Redemption for the Blue Hearts
by TheGirlWhoLikesTooMuchStuff2.0
Summary: "Oh, my God," Bruce whispered. "That's right. He's coming, isn't he? Thanos." Dr. Strange glanced at Wong and the both of them looked lost. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, who?" Loki sighed and rubbed his aching head. These idiots really didn't know anything did they? "Well, it is just marvelous to be back on Earth." SPOILERS! AU where our favorite God has a bigger role in A:IW/E.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Avengers and all the characters in this story belong to Marvel Studios. This story is based on Avengers: Infinity War and this story is made for entertainment purposes only._

 _Author's Note: So…I saw Infinity War and was like wow this is amazing but, damn I wish Loki didn't die in the first five minutes. Then I had this dream where he helped Thor in the movie and was like what a good idea for a fan fiction! But I changed it up to be more "dramatic" and hopefully everyone will like it. This story follows the course of the movie with a few differences, a few flash backs that go into detail of what happened to Loki before the events of the first Avengers film, and maybe it goes on to make up my own version of what I think will happen in part two. Maybe? Depends on how much you guys like the first couple of chapters I have planned._

 _Anyways, on to the story!_

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 _ **Redemption for the Blue Hearts**_

 _Prologue: The 1,325 Year Old Promise_

"I believe everything will turn out alright, brother." Those were Thor's attempt at calming and comforting words. They were a true testament to how hopeful and how naïve Thor could be. In Loki's mind, traveling back to Earth was a monumental mistake that would led to his brother reuniting with his "mightiest hero" friends and to him having a huge headache. Not to mention, he would have to endure the hardship of having all of the Avengers constantly giving him suspicious looks. Being the God of Mischief always meant that people were distrustful of him, but going to Earth… It seemed like asking for unnecessary trouble.

None of that mattered anymore.

All the dissatisfaction he felt with the knowledge that they were indeed going to Earth, flew out the window the second he saw the huge and looming ship come into their view.

Not just any ship.

Thanos's ship.

 _Stars above._

He had never thought that he would see that horrible ship again. He never thought he would feel that instant gut clenching dread that he had felt when he had been on that ship for months. And suddenly he wasn't on their small port ship, drifting through space, standing next to his brother. Loki was taken somewhere else. A dark and cold place. A place where death was a mercy.

It had been a ship that was a labyrinth of cells. Shadows hugged every corner and they hid the Titan whenever he visited Loki, but his voice was a cruel reminder that he was there just within reach. _"Let me show you what you truly meant to those soulless Asgardians."_ And then there was nothing but blinding pain.

Loki blinked away the stinging tears and returned back in the present. "We have to evacuate the ship," he murmured. If Thor hadn't been so close to him, he doubted that he even would have heard him.

"Evacuate the ship? Loki, what are you-? Wait! Where are you going?"

Loki was already running out of Thor's self-claimed captain's quarters. He didn't know what Thanos's plans were, if he even had any, for them, but he didn't care to know them. They couldn't risk it, they had to get as many people off the ship as possible. They had about forty pods on the ship for emergencies like this and then there were fifteen work pods that were meant to be used at shipping areas to empty the ship of trading goods.

So, fifty-five in total and there were over a thousand people on the ship. The work pods could only hold about four or five people, but the emergency pods could hold up to twenty people. Let's see, twenty people on forty pods…that was about eight hundred, plus, let's just figure five people on the fifteen work pods…that was a total of eight hundred and seventy-five.

They couldn't possibly save everyone.

Thor, who had been running after him, grabbed Loki by the shoulder. His strong grip stopped Loki midstride. "Loki, will you please explain what is happening?" Thor asked in his usual dumb way.

Loki shook his head frantically. "There is no time to explain. Listen to me, we have to have Valkyrie and your annoying rock friend get all of the women and children to the emergency and work pod ships. There is only room for about eight hundred and seventy-five people, give or take a few. We also need to have every able bodied man and possibly woman who knows how to fight-"

"Loki?" Thor said in confusion. His one eye twinkled with worry. Loki could understand his confusion, but the worry? "Loki, you're shaking."

Was he? He looked down at his hands, both were trembling. "Yes, I see that."

Thor reached out for him, placing both of his hands on his shoulders. "Alright. Just breathe. And try to tell me, _calmly_ , why we should evacuate the ship just because we came across another ship."

Once again, Thor's words were a blend of his own calmness and naïveté. Had the situation been different, Loki would have rolled his eyes and have snapped something like, "This is not just "another ship." Do you think I am so much a coward to flee from anything that we come across?" But this was not a time to be quick-witted.

"Thor, brother, _please._ Just trust me." He hated that he had to resort to begging, but he knew that would grab Thor's attention. It sort of worked but not really.

"I do trust you. I just want to know-"

"Who controls the would be king!" Loki shouted, impatiently. Thor jumped back startled. "You asked me that very question a long time ago, brother. Who controls the would be king and gave me my army and my scepter." Thor nodded in remembrance. "Well, the…the… _monster_ who captains that ship controlled the would be king and let me assure you, brother, he is not one to underestimate."

Thor finally had a look of understanding, which was a good thing because suddenly there was a terrible sound of metal being ripped apart by an explosion and the entire ship shook violently. Loki and Thor both lost their footing and fell to the floor. Loki gave Thor a pleading look.

"Now do you wish to evacuate the ship?"

"Yes. That is a very good idea. Come on." Thor was back on his feet in no time and he offered his hand to Loki. Loki blew his hair out of his face and took it. Thor pulled him to his feet and then they both ran to the main control center on the ship. "Perhaps next time," Thor started, "you should start by saying, "Oh, brother, remember when I acted like a fool and attacked Earth? Well, there's a fellow in this ship here, who gave me my army and apparently is not happy with me." That way, we can save time."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Loki said annoyed.

They both ran into the control center. Valkyrie, Heimdall, the rock guy and his fellow revolution followers, and a few of the Asguardians were all there picking themselves up and looking startled. Well, all looked startled except for Valkyrie. She stood up and shouted, "Why did that stupid ship fire at us?! Do they want us to move, is that? Don't they see how big space is! They can just go around us!"

Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Well, maybe they don't understand how vast and large space truly is," the rock guy said in his slow way. "I mean take me for example. I didn't understand how space could be so large when it looks so small on those space charts with the stars and the planets."

"They're not firing at us because we're in their way, you idiots!" Loki shouted. "They're firing at us because they're bad people."

Heimdall nodded. "Yes, I've seen the ship's leader and he has plans to board our ship and wreak havoc."

"Alright, everyone listen to me," Thor called, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "We need to evacuate the ship. I want all the families with children to go down first to the emergency pods and then the elderly and then whoever else is left. I realize that this ship is not equipped to fight back, but anyone who wishes to stay with me and defend it to the best of our abilities will have my appreciation."

"Count me in," Valkyrie said pulling out her sword.

Loki sighed. Of course the woman would stay and fight to her death, it was in her nature. Brunnhilde, who simply went by the name "Valkyrie," was the perfect incarnation of a former version of Thor; they were both so willing to fight and had thick skulls. Saying that they had "thick skulls" was being nice.

Thor shook his head. "I need you and Korg to help make sure everyone gets on the pods safely."

Valkyrie huffed disappointed, but didn't argue the manner. "Come on Korg," she said as she took fast long strides out of the room.

"The evacuation has begun," Korg said as he picked up his little friend, Miek and followed Valkyrie.

Several of the Asgardians in the room quickly followed them and a few elected to stay on board. Thor smiled affectionately at those who choose to fight with him. He shouldn't have been so surprised at his people's loyalty; they did love him after all. Loki had known that his entire life and it was the reason he had been so jealous of his brother. Even when Thor had been a selfish, attention seeking buffoon, the citizens of Asguard loved their golden prince.

"Heimdall," Thor started, walking over to the former gate keeper. He motioned out the large window at Thanos's ship. "What are they doing out there? Why haven't they fired more?"

Heimdall took a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating on looking into the ship and seeing Thanos. "They are playing with us. They want to see what we do before boarding."

Loki shuddered at the thought of Thanos and his hoard of minions boarding their ship. Thor kept his cool. "We should send out a distress message. Maybe someone will come and-"

"And what? Rescue us?" Loki asked, skeptically.

Thor shrugged and sent some people to send a message out. Thor kept giving orders like the good king he was and Loki stood off to the sidelines fidgeting. Every second of waiting for Thanos to unleash the full power of his arsenal became increasingly stressful. And worst still, Loki had the sinking feeling that he was the one who was to blame for Thanos being here.

He did have the Tesseract.

He should have just left it on Asgard to burn with his sister and the rest of the city then maybe the Titan wouldn't be here right now.

 _Idiot! There was no place Thanos couldn't find you. The fact that you have the damn cube doesn't change that._

"Loki."

He looked up and saw Thor staring at him. "Yes?"

"I want you to go and help the others get on the pods safely. See if you can get Korg and Valkyrie on one and see if you can get yourself on one."

Loki blinked several times, not sure if he heard him right. "You want me to run away?"

"No, I want you to get yourself and the others to safety."

"So…run away?"

Thor sighed, "You know I am staying on the ship to defend it with my last breath and if something where to happen to me, then the survivors need a leader. And I want that to be you, brother."

Loki's head was spinning. "No. I'm-I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here."

"Loki-"

"No! I am. You have no idea what you are fighting against, I do. I'm staying!"

Thor strangely seemed sad and agreed. "Alright, you're staying. I do however want you to help Korg and Valkyrie and get them on a pod."

Loki nodded. "Fine and what will you be doing?"

"Looking for Hulk. Not sure where he disappeared to."

Of course, their big green beast. Maybe they did stand a chance against Thanos after all.

…

Loki went down three floors to reach the pods. There was a sort of mass hysteria among the people trying to get themselves on a seat on a pod that was only contained by Valkyrie's long ranged shouting. Korg stood point, directing people. "Everyone stay calm and cool. If all the kiddies with their parents and the grey haired individuals could please form a nice straight line that would be great."

Loki made his way around the lines and crowds of high-strung, scared people. "What are you doing here, lackey?" Valkyrie asked when she saw him.

"It's _Loki_ and Thor sent me to help you."

"I don't need your help. I've got this completely under control."

"Sure, is that why everyone is running around?"

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. Loki stood with her and together they watched to make sure no one got into the pods ahead of the families with children and the elderly and once or twice they both had to go and breakup the start of a fight between the anxious people. "Stupid people, why can't they just be patient."

Loki didn't respond. He was just waiting for the moment when everyone realized that there wasn't enough room for all onboard. The already frenzy would raise exceptionally and the desperate people trying to get a seat would fight even more.

He still couldn't believe that Thor wanted him to get on one of the pods and run away. Was he crazy? Thor had no idea what Thanos was cable of and he was going to send away the only person who did? On the other hand, all Loki wanted to do was be a coward and run away. Who knew what Thanos would do with him if he found him. And it was kind of nice that Thor wanted him to be the leader if something happened to him. Not that anything would happen to Thor, the oaf was too stubborn to die.

The emergency pods were the first to be filled and sent out into space. Nearly all of them had been deployed when Loki realized that there were only about thirty people left waiting to get on to a pod. Maybe they would have enough room to save everyone who did not want to stay behind after all. Loki left Valkyrie and went up to Korg. "Get yourself on a pod."

"Oh, alright man. Do you want to get on one too?"

"No."

"Okay. Oh, can Miek come with me? He doesn't take up much space and I can just carry him around so,-"

"Yes. Alright, that's fine. Just get on the pod."

Korg nodded and Miek made a soft sound, which Loki assumed meant, "okay". They got onto an empty pod ship and soon they were not alone. Valkyrie came up beside Loki and said, "Only have a few more."

"Yes, I noticed." The pod that Korg was on started to rumble to life. Clear glass came down between the load zone and the pod so no one else could get on and no one could get off. Then the pod's door closed and the entire thing was shot out into space. The few people who were left quickly filed on board the last emergency pod. "You should get on this one," Loki told Valkyrie.

She looked at him like he had gone crazy. "Why would I do that? There's still a fight to be had."

Loki sighed, "So is it safe to assume that you will not be leaving of your own free will?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then in that case I only have one thing to say."

"What?" Valkyrie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think that there is some unresolved sexual tension between you and my brother."

Valkyrie's jaw dropped. "What would give you a stupid idea like that?"

"Well, it's the only logical reason I can come up with for why he would want to save you." And before she could even think of a reply, he pushed her onto the pod. She stumbled around, but she didn't fall down. Once she realized she was on board she tried to run back off the pod, but the clear glass had already come down. She smacked right into it and fell to the ground.

Loki smiled, happy with himself that he had timed getting her on board so perfectly and also how silly she looked when she ran into the glass. Valkyrie didn't stay down for too long and soon she was banging on the glass with her fists. "You bastard! You distracted me!"

"God of Mischief, remember?"

"Why you little-" But she was cut off by the door shutting and the pod going out to space. Loki let a deep breath he hadn't know he had been holding. At least most of the people were safe now and he had abided Thor's wishes. Now, came the tricky part, confronting Thanos.

He started making his way back up to the control center when there was another explosion, and then another, and then another. Thanos had started his attack and he wasn't holding back. Loki ran for the control center, but then he would fall to the ground every time the ship was struck, so it was a tedious process. When he was only a floor away, a fiery blast went off to his left throwing him to ground with almost enough force to knock him out.

He found it hard to get back up, he could hardly get on his hands and knees. His head hurt and he felt like the whole world was spinning.

 _What a time to get a concussion._

And everything started to go black…

"Well, look what I found here."

That was a woman's voice.

A voice he knew.

How long had he been out? Was he alive?

Dumb question.

Someone grabbed him by the back of his collar and rolled him on his back.

"It _is_ you," the woman who he knew from somewhere said happily. "Father, will be so pleased."

 _Father? Oh, oh no._

He did know that voice. The voice belonged to a woman named Proxima Midnight and she was a part of Thanos's Black Order. She was one of Thanos's many daughters. He opened his eyes slowly. Midnight had her black three bladed spear pointed at him. Her thin white lips were twisted into a cruel smirk and her navy blue eyes sparkled in the light of the burning ship. He turned his head to the side with a groan. The corridor that he was in was no longer bright or shiny with newness that it had been before he had been knocked out. The metal was mangled and burnt, the lights were flashing red, and everything was in pieces.

"Stand up!" Midnight shouted.

His head felt like it had been caved in by a steam shovel. Sitting up would take likely about thirty minutes to accomplish, but the murderous psychopath wanted him to stand right now.

 _Joy to the blessed world…_

He tried to get to his feet without teetering but it was useless. He thought about healing himself with his magic, at least enough to take the edge off, but he decided against it at this point. It was better to not let them see him using his powers. He remembered being in his cell aboard Thanos's ship and being beaten within an inch of his life when someone had learned that he was healing his previous injuries. So early on he learned to deal with the pain and not rely so heavily on his healing ability.

He was on his feet. Finally.

Midnight pointed in the direction he had been going when the blast that knocked him out had gone off. He staggered around while Midnight followed close behind with her spear pointed at the back of his head. He ignored her snickering when he lost his footing going up the flight of stairs that led to the control center.

The control center was in worse shape than the corridor he had been in, of course that was probably because most of the explosions had taken place here. He cautiously glanced down at the floor and watched his step; there were bodies everywhere. They littered the ground. Most were dead and the few that weren't would soon be killed by the rest of the Black Order.

Loki saw the others, Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian, and somewhere he knew that Ebony Maw was around. He always loved a little death. These weren't all the children that Thanos had, but they certainly were the ugliest. There were other children that he had caught glimpses of, a heartless green assassin, an actual blood child, a Kree who usually was with the four who were here. And there was another one that Loki knew of. The very thought of her made him hope and pray that she was here. Although why was anyone's guess. If she was somewhere on board the ship she wouldn't help him fight her father or intervene when, not if, Thanos tried to kill him. She had made that much clear six years ago.

Loki pushed the memories of the past away and focused at the matter at hand: He was standing with all of the Black Order around him. Thanos was just now coming onboard the ship and he picked up the still alive Thor by the head as he did so. Loki felt every emotion possible, fear, anger, hopelessness. But he attempted to keep himself relaxed so he didn't give himself away.

Thanos spoke in his thunderous way about the things he usually spoke about and he asked Loki for the Tesseract. So, he had been correct, Thanos was here because of the Tesseract. He knew what this meant, Thanos was trying to get the Infinity Stones again. Although this time he was doing it himself. He already had the purple Power Stone set in place on his Infinity Gauntlet.

He could not give it to Thanos. Every fiber in his body told him he should not, under any circumstances, give this maniac the Tesseract. But he knew what would happen if he didn't. Thor would die.

This was the definition of Hell.

Watch his brother die or give a mad man a vital piece of the puzzle to destroy half the universe. An impossible choice that Loki was forced to make.

He tried to keep his strong front together when he told Thanos to kill away, but it was not too many seconds after seeing Thor being put through utter agony because of the Power Stone, that his emotions started to shine through. He couldn't do this. He couldn't watch this. He was so weak.

"Alright, stop!"

Thanos did and Loki conjured up the Tesseract with a gesture of his hand. Thor shook his head in disbelief and muttered, "Brother, you are the worst." This time Loki had to agree with him. Thanos dropped Thor to the ground like a bag of old potatoes.

"The sun will shine on us again, brother," he said as Thanos took the cube. It was his turn to say calming and comforting words. And it was at that very moment that Loki saw in the corner of his eye Hulk buried in some rubble. He was awake and trying to get himself out from underneath the twisted metal. Loki adverted his eyes back to Thanos.

The Titan crushed the cube with a squeeze of his fingers and blew away the broken shards of glass that remained revealing the small blue Space Stone in all of its wonder. Thanos placed it in his Gauntlet next to the Power Stone. Two down, four to go. Not too long ago if you had asked Loki if it were possible for anyone to be in procession of two Infinity Stones he would have laughed right in your face. But now he was witnessing it.

"You have more faith then you should, Asgardian," Thanos told him, obviously jeering.

Loki glanced over at Hulk who was glaring at the back of Thanos's head. It wouldn't be long now…

"For one, I'm not Asgardian. And for another, we have a Hulk." And then he ran to Thor and threw both him and himself down to the ground just as the green beast broke free and came charging towards Thanos. Loki and Thor both sat to the sidelines and watched as Hulk held his own against Thanos for the first few moments. Hulk punched the Titan viciously and repeatedly in the head and just as Loki began to think they might have a chance, Thanos swung his right fist, caught Hulk in the jaw, and sent him flying backwards. Hulk let out a loud roar and went back to continue the fight. "I don't know if he'll win this one," Loki muttered.

Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki turned to face him. "Then what's your plan, brother?"

Loki shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe you hit him with a lightning bolt and I try to stab him in the neck."

"Do you really think you can stop this giant with a tiny dagger?"

"Well, you're the _king_. What's your plan?"

Thanos slammed Hulk against a wall and punched him in the gut multiple times. Hulk grunted and seemed to grow weary. Thanos took advantage of this moment of weakness and threw him to the ground. Hulk stayed down.

"Do you know that mother made me promise to keep you safe?"

Loki wasn't sure if he heard Thor correctly. He glanced at him. "I'm sorry?"

Thor smiled weakly in remembrance. "When she first came to my room with you. You were such a small thing, all pale with large eyes. She said that I was a big brother now and I had to look after you. She made me promise."

Loki was stunned. Thor had never told him that. It was also a weird time to be telling him this. Maybe he thought they were done for and wanted to leave on a sentimental note. If that were the case, there were so many things Loki should say. So many things that he had wanted to say but never did.

Thanos chuckled at the sight of Hulk bleeding and at this point, no longer a threat. His children chuckled too, in a feeble attempt to gain their father's approval. It wouldn't be long till Thanos found Loki and Thor off to the side hidden by a metal beam. And then what? Was this how it would all end?

Thor glanced out from their hiding spot and glanced at the area where Hulk was still laying semiconscious. He turned back to Loki. "I made that promise one thousand three hundred and twenty five years ago. I haven't always kept it, brother, but I intend to do so now."

"What are you say-?"

"Heimdall! Now!" Thor jumped up from their hiding spot, dragging Loki with him. Heimdall was alive and on the ground next to Hulk. He closed his eyes and stretched his hand out towards Hulk. He conjured up some dark energy and used it to form a Bifrost like white light that sucked Hulk up and went flying towards the large broken window in the control center. "Good luck, brother," Thor said and he pushed Loki in the line of the Bifrost.

Loki didn't have time to process what was happening and then suddenly he was in the familiar rainbow white light speeding away to who knew where.

What the hell just happened? _Why_ did this just happen? Was Thor so much an idiot that he thought that this was a good idea? This was a terrible idea! Thor couldn't possibly take on Thanos or any of the Black Order by himself. Even with his new found lightning powers.

Loki and Hulk continued traveling through the different galaxies, passing by many planets and stars and moons, until they reached a galaxy that they both knew. They were speeding towards Earth. Was it Loki's imagination or were they going faster than what they usually did when traveling by Bifrost? The city seemed to be rushing towards them awfully-

 _Oh, you have got to be kidding._

They were going to crash into a building.

…

 _Warm soft memories of childhood._

 _Can you believe that was centuries ago._

 _He was a child, running with Thor through a golden field of grass. There was a silver stream that ran through the field that had shiny blue and green fish swimming upstream. White butterflies were hidden in the grass and they all flew up out in surprise when the two boys came running through. The sky was clear and the sun was high. It was beautiful._

 _This is where he went when he didn't know what to do or how to cope. This unimportant day from his childhood. When things were so much simpler._

"Loki? Loki can you hear me?"

 _The happiness faded away into a dark abyss. And he was falling. Falling forever. He would surly die at some point. But he didn't. He went through something much worse than death._

"I don't think he can hear me. He might have a concussion or something. But you said you were a doctor, right? Can't you examine him?"

 _Cold shadows hung to cells and there was blinding pain. "Why didn't you just let me die?" he whimpered._

" _Because you have potential to be a worthy ally."_

"Yes. Okay, fine. Wong, keep your shields up though. I don't need him attacking us."

 _There was no comfort on the ship. Nothing. Except for the girl with blue skin and cold hands who wanted to talk._

"Attacking us? Look at him. He can't hurt a fly."

 _He eventually gave in to what Thanos wanted him to do; it did make some sense to become King of Earth. Right? He attacked New York and failed. He had lost both of his parents before they had even died, he had a sister that nobody knew about who he helped kill, and now Thor was…was…_

"Thank you, Dr. Banner, for your input. But I have to worry about protecting this sanctuary and whether or not if this man looks harmless, does not change the fact that he attacked this very city five years ago."

 _Thor._

It all came rushing back. The attack on their ship, the evacuation, Thanos getting the Tesseract, Thor keeping a 1,325 year old promise to their mother. Thor pushed him in front of the Bifrost. Thor was going to fight Thanos by himself.

Loki's eyes popped open and he yelled, "That witless oaf!"

A disheveled looking Bruce Banner, Dr. Stephen Strange, and another man who he assumed was Wong all jumped back at his sudden outburst. Strange and Wong both took a defensive stance and brought up their magical shields. Bruce however sighed in relief that Loki was awake and he asked, "Who's an oaf?"

"My brother! The God of Poor Decision Making! If he thinks that he can take on Thanos all by himself, then-then…" He was too angry to finish his thought.

"Oh, my God," Bruce whispered. "That's right. He's coming, isn't he? Thanos."

Dr. Strange glanced at Wong and the both of them looked lost. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, who?"

Loki sighed and rubbed his aching head. These idiots really didn't know anything did they? "Well, it is just marvelous to be back on Earth."


	2. Chapter One

_Author's Note: Oh my God, thank you to everyone for taking such an interest in my little story! I never expected anything like this! Bless all of you!_

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 _Chapter One: Return of "Reindeer Games"_

They were in New York City, in Dr. Stephen Strange's sanctuary, the very one that Loki and Thor had visited several weeks ago. Well, Thor visited, Loki fell through a portal for thirty minutes and then crashed to the polished marble floor. Now, he had a chance to look around more at the beautiful sanctuary, filled with its artifacts and grand architecture. Oh it was nothing like the interiors of Asgard but it had a very nice look about it.

Unfortunately, Loki and Bruce had sort of destroyed the grand staircase when they crash landed. Oh well. The wizard probably had the place insured.

Wong was busy flipping through pages in a thick hard covered book. He was a chubby, shorter man that didn't look all that powerful, but Loki had seen that he knew the same magic that the good Doctor knew and he wasn't about to mess with anybody who could send him falling through another portal. Bruce had been given a pair of ill-fitting clothes and his hair was still a wild mop of brown and gray. He was sitting on a hunter green elegant looking couch, his leg twitching. Dr. Strange had his large red cloak cape thing on and stood with his arms crossed, eyeing Loki the whole time while he used his own powers to heal his head injury.

"You needn't be so suspicious of me," Loki said, once he was done and felt much better. His head no longer hurt and he didn't feel like he was going to fall flat on his face, but he knew he would have to take it easy.

Strange scoffed, "You are a deranged sociopath who killed hundreds of innocent people five years ago when you decided to take over the world. I have every reason to be suspicious."

"Deranged is a bit harsh, isn't it?"

"Laugh all you want. The only reason you aren't screaming your head off in an infinite fall right now, is because of Dr. Banner."

Loki stood up from his chair. Strange uncrossed his arms and was prepared to bring up his shields again. Loki simply smirked at his overreaction. He magically transformed his clothes to that of a black suit with a green tie. Strange looked confused. "Well, I don't want to stand out here, do I? I'm not like you with your big obnoxious cape and collar."

Strange rolled his eyes. "For the record, Mr. Trying to Blend In, I've seen YouTube videos where you were wearing a horn helmet."

"I've found it," Wong interrupted and carried the heavy volume over to a table. He set it down and pointed to the dusty old page. Bruce jumped from his seat and practically ran to the table. Loki and Strange both gave each other a, I could totally beat you in a fight, look and went to see what Wong had found.

Bruce had been looking over the pages of the book first and said, "Yeah. These are it. These are those stones that Thanos had. Don't you think so?" He turned to Loki as he came up beside him. Loki scanned over the pages. They were written in some sort of ancient script that he didn't recognize but off to the side were drawings of six stones, one each color of the rainbow.

"Yes. Those are the Infinity Stones."

Wong nodded. "And you said that this Thanos has two of them already?"

"Correct."

Dr. Strange placed his hand on the book and dragged it across the table to him. He started reading it in parts. "All six stones are full of immense power…just one stone by itself can destroy whole worlds…the Soul Stone is the only stone that is known to be permanently hidden." He flipped the book shut. "Thanos has two stones. One is hidden somewhere no one knows. And Earth has at least two."

Loki looked up in surprise. He knew about his scepter, but there was another one on Earth? Well, this was news. "Where are they?" he asked.

"One of them is right here," Strange said and he gestured his arms in a way to do a spell. The thick necklace that he was wearing opened up and revealed the incredible shine of the green Time Stone. Loki was stunned. Strange was nothing more than a parlor wizard compared to himself and yet here he was with an Infinity Stone dangling around his neck.

"How long have you had that?" he asked, still in disbelieve that a mere mortal had such a powerful object at his disposal.

"About a year, but the stone has been under the protection of many sorcerers throughout the years."

Loki blinked. "Are you telling me that there was an Infinity Stone right here in New York the whole time?"

"Yes…I guess so, why-?"

"You mean to tell me," he interrupted, getting annoyed. "That I had two stones in my procession and there was another one so close to my grasp? I could have had three!" Strange lifted an eyebrow at him and Bruce stared at him in disbelief. Loki looked at the pair of them realizing that he probably shouldn't have voiced his frustration of being so close to being in control of three of the most powerful items in the entire universe. It made him appear like the terrible person they sort of already thought he was. "I mean, well, I guess it doesn't really matter now does it." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Strange let out a deep breath. "Tell me again why I shouldn't be so suspicious of you?"

Bruce sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look, the God of Mischief here is a bit of a handful but I think we can trust him." Strange opened his mouth to protest but Bruce was faster. "And even if we can't trust him, there is a much bigger problem heading our way."

Strange nodded with a new air of determination. "Then what is your plan, Dr. Banner?"

"We need to assemble the Avengers."

Loki groaned, "Oh dear."

"Oh dear, indeed," Wong said. "The Avengers have split up."

"What?" Bruce cried.

"Really?" Loki said, a bit too happily.

Bruce walked slowly to the couch that he had been sitting on not two minutes before. "Wow, you really miss a lot when you're in space for two years." He slumped onto the couch and rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers. Loki felt sorry for the poor man who couldn't seem to catch a break and he also watched him very carefully to see if there was any hint of the beast within. After all the stress of today, he was surprised that Bruce wasn't the Hulk right now tearing apart cars. Bruce sighed, "Okay, then we need to contact Tony Stark."

"Easily done," Strange said and then he was off to make some sort of location spell. Wong followed him. Loki and Bruce were alone and honestly it was a bit weird. They had never really talked or anything. Hell, Loki and Hulk never talked or anything.

"Do you think Valkyrie and the others survived?" Bruce asked.

"I'm sure they're fine. Thor had a distress message sent out, so if they need help someone will show up. Besides, Valkyrie may be a pig headed lady, but she knows what she's doing."

Bruce nodded and seemed to worry less. And then he asked the question that Loki had been internally asking since he woke up, "Do you think Thor is alive?"

"Of course," he lied. "Thor's crafty, he has gotten himself out of worse situations."

Bruce once again seemed less worried and went back to sitting in silence. Good, let him not have to dwell on what Loki was dwelling on. Part of him believed the words he had told Bruce, but a bigger and pessimistic part of him thought that his brother was gone. He tried to shake the dismal idea away but even when he could he still had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 _Damn him, for being so selfless. Should've saved himself, instead of me._

That was Thor, always trying to be the hero. Loki didn't know which was worse though, being a hero for glory or being the selfless hero who died heroically at the end. At least the glory seeking hero would be alive at the end in theory. And he really didn't want Thor to be dead.

It was funny really.

For what felt like a life time, he had wanted Thor to die, or at the very least be very unwell. And now-

Dr. Strange came back into the room, Wong once again close on his heels. "I found where Stark is." Without waiting for a response, Strange twirled his arm around in a large circle and an orange, sparkler like portal opened up. Strange didn't hesitate in walking through it. Loki could hear Strange say, "Tony Stark, your assistance is needed."

Both Loki and Bruce stepped closer to the portal. Loki paused in a place just away from the entrance of the portal, so he wouldn't be seen. So did Bruce. That was odd. "What are you waiting for?" Loki asked him. "Shouldn't you follow the annoying wizard man and help persuade your equaling annoying friend to help us out?"

"Yeah. Uh, I know, I um…It's just been two years and I uh, I don't know what to say."

"Well, speaking from experience why don't you just say, "Hey, I'm alive." It's very effective."

"It's not that easy, Loki."

"Says you." He got closer to portal to hear what was happening.

He heard Stark say, "And who exactly are you?"

Strange said, "Dr. Stephen Strange and if I might say, every minute that we waste going through these formalities, the universe is put closer to complete destruction."

"You seem a little tense magic man," Stark said in a dry tone.

Strange sighed, "Look, we need your help. Are you coming or not?"

"And who's we?"

Loki loved making big dramatic entrances and after hearing that open-ended question beckoning him, he just knew he had to make one. "Well, for one, me." He stepped through the portal and stood next to Strange. They were in a sunny park by a lake with plenty of people around. Strange sighed again at Loki's entrance.

Tony Stark, who had always been so witty and annoying, stood with a light haired woman and his mouth fell open in shock. It was quite hilarious seeing the infamous Iron Man speechless. "Loki," Stark said in a horse whisper.

"Hello, Stark. It's been a while hasn't it?"

Stark suddenly broke out of his trance and took three quick steps towards Loki with a dangerous look in his eye. The light haired woman grabbed Stark's arm and said, "Tony! Tony, what are you doing?"

Stark pointed at Loki. "You have approximately three seconds to tell me what the hell you are doing here before-"

"Before what?" Loki asked, unimpressed. "Before you make a sarcastic comment?"

"Okay," Strange said, "You are really not helping."

"Who said I came here to help?" Loki said with a smirk.

"Alright I'm out of patience. Pepper, please let go of me." The light haired woman or Pepper, let go of Stark's arm reluctantly but stayed close by his side. "Someone tell me what is happening right now."

Loki huffed annoyed. "What is happening? Okay. A terrible monster named Thanos is coming to Earth to retrieve two Infinity Stones to destroy half the universe. I think that about does it. Any questions?"

Stark scowled at him. "Yes I have some questions. Why should I believe a word you say?"

"Because your friend will back me up."

"I don't care what Thor has to say about-"

"No, not my brother. Your _other_ friend."

And as if on cue, Bruce came walking through the portal and came between Strange and Loki. Once again, Tony was speechless and shocked. It was Pepper who spoke, "Oh, my God, Bruce."

"Hey, Pepper." Bruce swallowed. "Tony. I…I'm alive."

Loki nodded his head in approval. Stark eyed his old friend as if he was only an illusion that could disappear at any moment. "Yeah, I see that. Where have you, ah, where've you been all this time?"

"…Space."

"Space?"

"Yeah. It was very weird."

"Excuse me," Loki interrupted, "I don't mean to interrupt this lovely reunion, but there is a mad Titan on his way to kill half the population, so can we hurry this up?"

"Right," Bruce nodded. "Pepper it was nice to see you again, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal Tony away for a while."

Pepper sighed and shrugged weakly. "What else is new?"

Stark leaned closer to Bruce and whispered, "So you're working with the magic man and Reindeer Games, then?"

Loki rolled his eyes at the nickname that he had long ago forgotten. When he had fought Captain Rogers in Germany five years ago, Stark came flying in and blasted him with his repulsor beams. _"Make you move, Reindeer Games."_ It was a knock against his horned helmet that looked like reindeer antlers to him apparently. Technically, the helmet was based off of cow's horns, and if Loki really thought about it, that was much worse.

"Yes," Bruce said without hesitation.

Stark stared at his friend for a minute before giving in with a sigh. "Alright then. I trust your judgment Bruce. But that doesn't mean I trust _him_." He glared into Loki's eyes and Loki didn't even flinch.

"Oh, believe me no one trusts him," Strange muttered from where he was standing off to the side. "Now, shall we?"

…

"When the universe was formed into existence there were six powerful groups of energy that remained in the aftermath. These six energies were formed into stones." As Wong continued educating Stark with magical projections of the stones, Loki sat on the steps of the ruined staircase feeling both bored and anxious. They needed to be making a plan, not giving Stark a lecture on how the Infinity Stones came to be. But nobody ever listened to him. "The Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Mind, and Time Stones. With just one of these stones a person could be unstoppable, but if someone were to gain all six…" Wong trailed off, lost in his own thoughts of what this meant for the universe.

Stark sat up straight in the chair he was sitting in. "And this guy wants them all? Tell me his name again."

"Thanos," Bruce said as he paced jittery around the room. "He already has the Power and the Space Stone, Tony and it won't be long till he comes here. He's a destroyer of worlds. The attack in New York, that was all him."

Stark's eyes shown with realization and he jumped from his chair. He walked around until he was in front of the staircase. "So, you used to work for this Thanos guy, then?" Loki ignored the question at first. "And to think all this time I thought you were some evil mastermind, but no, Reindeer Games is just a puppet."

And that's when Loki answered. "I am nobody's puppet," he spat. "And I did not work _for_ him. What he wanted was mad. He wanted the scepter and the Tesseract to carry out his plan and there was no way I was ever going to give them to him."

Stark chuckled humorlessly, "You expect me to believe that?"

"No. I expect for you to believe that I'm an evil person."

Stark shrugged. "That's certainly _easier_ to believe."

Loki would never admit it, but that stung.

Strange cleared his throat after no one said anything for a while. "We have to protect the stones on Earth."

Stark glanced over at the Doctor. "We have to get reinforcements together."

Loki rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples, feeling the start of a headache. "Well no shit, Sherlock. You two are both excellent at pointing out the painfully obvious."

Stark and Strange both glared at the trickster and Stark asked, "And how do you know who Sherlock Holmes is?"

"Just because I dislike you Midgardians, does not mean that I can't read and enjoy your literature."

"Focus guys. Come on," Bruce said. "Dr. Strange has the Time Stone and Vision has the Mind Stone. Where is Vision?"

"What is a Vision?" Loki asked.

"He's an android that Tony and I sort of helped make two years ago."

"…So, you made a robot with the stone from my scepter?"

" _Android_ ," Stark snapped. "Are you hard of hearing, Reindeer Games? And to answer Bruce's question, I kinda lost Vision two weeks ago."

"You what?"

"Well, ever since the Avengers broke up a lot of the old team has been, how do I put this, wanted by the government. And I'm pretty sure that Vision and Wanda, you remember Wanda right?" Bruce shook his head yes. "Well, I'm pretty sure they're an item and that Vision left to stay with her."

"How do we find him?"

"Cap would know how."

Strange and Wong both groaned. "Great and Steve Rogers is public enemy number one," Strange muttered.

Loki was confused by that. What could the dear Captain have possibly done to be hunted by his own government? That question would go unanswered for the time being because then Stark continued, "He told me if I needed help, that I could call him, but we're not really on speaking terms."

Bruce walked up to Stark and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tony, right now it doesn't matter who you're talking to. All that matters is protecting the stones and if Steve can find Vision, then we need to call him."

Stark nodded solemnly and pulled an old flip phone out of his pocket. He opened it and stared at it for a while. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. And after fifty seconds of just standing there he still hadn't called Rogers.

Loki sighed annoyed. "Oh, stars above." He twisted his hand and the cell phone disappeared from Stark's grasp and appeared in Loki's hand. He glanced over the phone; there was one number in the phone, so he selected that one and pressed call. He held it to his ear and it began to ring.

Stark turned around surprised. "What did-why do-?"

"I'm saving time and unlike you, I have no qualms about calling Captain America." It rang two more times and then went to voicemail. "That's unfortunate, it went to voicemail."

"Give me the phone." And Stark yanked the phone from his hand.

"Rude," Loki muttered.

Stark let out another deep breath and left his message: "Hey, Steve it's me, Tony. I just wanted to let you know that there might be some people after the stone in Vision's head, so if you know where he is, just help him out alright. When you find him, meet me at Avengers headquarters. I'll explain everything there. Kay, bye." Stark flipped the phone shut and sighed again.

"I think you were making this far too hard," Loki commented. "It was _just_ a phone call, for star's sake."

"Oh will you shut up. Don't talk to me about how hard that was, when this is about something you know nothing about." Loki had evidently struck a nerve. "Where is Thor anyways? Why are you here instead of him?"

 _Why indeed._

Loki blinked a few times. "My brother in all of his vast wisdom, thought that saving me was more important than saving himself. How about this Stark, if he is still alive we both ask him why he made such a poor decision."

Stark opened his mouth but then stopped. He heard something or sensed something. Loki listened too. The wind had picked up and there was a distant noise of people…yelling? Everyone in the room stood still and glanced to the main door. Outside there were groups of people running past in a panic. Loki stood up, Stark reached the door, and everyone left the safety of the sanctuary for the havoc of the streets.

Everything was in a frenzy: people hurrying to get away, cars speeding along the road, and every person who passed Loki looked fearful.

 _This was bad._

Stark put on a pair of glasses that glowed around the edges, no doubt another of his inventions. He was trying to figure out what was going on when a car crashed into a light post not two feet away from him. Bruce and Wong stayed behind to help any injured person in the car and Loki, Strange, and Stark all walked around the corner. Hovering about twenty feet above the street was an enormous ringed shaped space craft, its engine humming and blowing the dust in the street everywhere.

"Oh dear," Loki whispered.

"You know this ship?" Strange asked, suddenly next to him.

"Yes, it's one of the pod ships from Thanos's ship. If the ship is here, then some of Thanos's children will be here for your stone."

"Hey doc," Stark said to Strange. "How 'bout you put the green glowing gem in your back pocket?"

Strange instead opened his necklace, did a few hand motions, and conjured green rings around his wrists. "We might have to use it."

"Indeed," Loki agreed as he transformed his suit to his traditional black and green leather outfit and pulled out his dagger.

The dust settled as they continued to cautiously make their way down the street. Standing in the middle of the road was the slender and nose-less Ebony Maw and the giant axe wielding Cull Obsidian. Both were dressed in dark dismal clothes and both were impressive foes. Maw was a powerful and gifted telekinetic and Obsidian was basically an evil Hulk.

Maw smiled cruelly when he saw the three of them approaching. "Glorious day! Today is the day you give up your meaningless lives to the merciful Thanos and-"

"I'm sorry Earth is closed today," Stark quipped. "And unless you both want your asses kicked I suggest you don't even try to take the stone."

Loki had to smirk at the disgusted expression on Maw's face. Bruce and Wong came running behind them and stood with them. Maw turned to Strange, "You, sorcerer, does this man speak for you?"

"Absolutely not. I speak for myself." Strange lifted his hands straight up in the air, made small circles and then two orange shields formed around his hands. He took a fighter's stance and said, "And I say go back to space." Maw scowled and he and Obsidian slowly started walking towards them.

Wong followed Strange's example and stepped forward. Bruce just watched on in amazement. Stark looked to Bruce, "You want to help out?"

"Oh! Right sorry. Not really, but when do I get what I want." Bruce strained for several seconds and his neck turned green, but he didn't change into the Hulk. Loki and Strange exchanged a worried glance. "Come on, come on."

"Ah, Bruce what's the problem?" Stark asked impatiently.

"I don't know. Hulk and I kind of have a problem."

"This is no time for a problem. There's a problem," Stark pointed at the two aliens who were getting closer. Bruce tried again, but to no prevail. Stark sighed, "Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."

Loki shook his head, "I'm not a wizard, I'm a master of the mystical arts."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're a wizard. Bruce are you gonna Hulk out or not?"

Bruce shook his head in tired defeat. "I can't."

Loki muttered, "What a day. Our ship is attacked, my brother is an idiot, and now are best line of defense won't come out. Anyone else feel like running away?" It was a joke meant to ease the tension, but both Stark and Strange glared at him again. "Stars, when one of you makes a smart ass comment its fine, but I make one and it warrants a death stare."

Maw recognized Loki and said, "Ah, the youngest Odinson. Your death will wipe out the last of your family."

Loki froze.

"What?"

"When you fled your ship, we killed your brother." That horrible dread that Loki had had seemed to consume him till he felt like screaming. Maw smiled cruelly again. "Will you die a more honorable death, I wonder? You see, your brother he begged for his life."

It was like the whole world was tipping over on its side and all Loki could see was red. "You're a liar!" he shouted, taking several steps forward.

Maw chuckled; Loki wanted to slice open his throat. "I am many things, but a liar I am not."

Loki's hands balled into fists and he felt the bite of his fingernails drawing blood. "Alright, Reindeer Games, _please_ don't do anything stupid."

Stupid? He probably would, he wasn't at all thinking straight. How could he? Thor was…Thor was… He couldn't even bring himself to think it. Maw had to be lying. Right? But-no. Maw wasn't a liar, none of Thanos's children were. So... Everything seemed to fade away for Loki. He didn't care about protecting the stones, or about Bruce or Strange or Stark or Wong or about anyone else in the entire damn universe. Nothing mattered.

Except for his rage.

He threw his dagger directly at Maw's head and focused his magic on the dagger until it multiplied into ten daggers. Maw easily avoided them by using his own powers, but two of the silver bladed daggers stabbed Obsidian in the shoulder. The giant roared in pain and frustration and started charging at them.

"And you did something stupid," Stark said, yanking Loki by the shoulder back behind him. He casually started walking towards the monster and said, "Okay, Friday let's do this." His Iron Man suit materialized around him, starting at his chest and spreading to the rest of his body until he was safe and sound in the suit. Four metal half circles deployed from the suit's back and fired four repulsor beams at Obsidian and sent him flying backwards. Maw tossed him to the side to prevent him from crashing into him. The half circles folded into themselves and connected back to the suit.

"What was that?" Bruce asked, impressed.

"Nano tech, you like? It is pretty basic techno-"

Maw rose his hand up and Stark was flung into the air with a shout of surprise. Strange sent his orange shield flying at Maw and knocked him over. It was Maw's turn to shout in surprise. Strange turned to Bruce. "Dr. Banner, since your green friend will not be joining us…" He created another portal and pushed Bruce in, sending him to a grassy park. He closed the portal and stood with Loki and Wong.

Maw got back to his feet looking more than a little pissed off. He told Obsidian, "Deal with the iron fellow." Obsidian spotted Stark hovering in the air and leaped up after him. The two crashed to the ground a street or two over.

"Stark can handle him," Wong said. "We'll deal with this guy."

"Three against one? Seems a bit unfair," Strange mused.

Loki shook his head. "Don't get cocky, wizard. He's been doing this a lot longer than you have."

Maw levitated forty or fifty discarded bricks from the broken buildings nearby. With a wave of the hand, he had shaved them down into sharp spikes. He pushed them forwards towards the three, but Strange was faster, opening a portal to catch them all before hitting anyone. Wong opened an identical portal and all of the spikes came flying out directly at Maw. Most of them never even reached Maw, but one grazed his forehead. He stumbled back, his hand reaching his forehead feeling his dark blood.

"You'll pay for that." He twisted his hand and Wong was thrown through a shop window. Maw then lifted his arms into the air and he surrounded himself with a vortex of flying debris. He smirked at Loki and Strange and began to run at them.

Loki glanced at Strange. "Together?"

Strange sighed and weakly nodded his head. "On my count…three, two, one, now!" Strange pushed his hands forward and a blast of crimson orange magic formed an enormous shield and Loki sent out a burst of his shimmering green magic as a reinforcement shield. Maw ran directly into and was immediately halted. He sent his debris flying but it all just bounced off of the shield. Loki and Strange's combined power created a shield of magic that not even Ebony Maw could break through. Maw strained to push past their magic and Loki and Strange strained to keep it in place. "Well, this is difficult," Strange muttered, as his hands began to shake.

"I told you not to get cocky."

"I'm sorry, but you came to Earth to concur us. I think you're the cocky one."

"I was cocky about my ability to fight powerless mortals, not flat faced telekinetics."

Maw pushed harder and yelled in anger. Perfect. They had Maw so focused on breaking their shield all they needed was some third party to come and get the drop on him-

"Hey, Squidward!" Stark yelled as he flew over Loki and Strange's heads, straight at Maw. His arms were straight out when he flew and his left arm caught Maw in the stomach, throwing him to the ground.

Loki flinched at the sound of metal making contact with Maw's soft flesh. "Oh, that had to hurt." Both Loki and Strange lowered their hands in mild exhaustion and their shield evaporated. "Nice to work with you, Doctor."

"Same to you, but let's not make a habit out of it." Loki half smirked, in spite of himself but it soon faded. The realization that Thor was probably dead suddenly weighed heavily on him. Strange seemed to notice his change in demeanor. "Um, I'm sorry about your brother. He, ah, seemed like a good man."

Loki glanced at the ground and didn't know what to say. Apparently, he would have time to think about it later because suddenly Obsidian came out of nowhere and landed next to Strange and Loki. He roared as he grabbed Loki's arm and tossed like a rag doll through the air. "What the hell!" he shouted, as he flew high up away from Strange and Stark.

"Hang on!" Strange yelled, but then Obsidian kicked him down.

 _Well this is lovely._

Stark and Strange were too occupied with fighting Obsidian again, that they probably won't have a chance to save him. Not that he really needed saving, he had already survived one crash landing today, but at the same time he didn't want to get knocked out for the third time. Teleporting was out of the question, he had drained himself significantly after forming that shield. The city streets seemed to be getting closer. Crash landing seemed like a big probability.

But then something hit his back and he was yanked upwards. "Whoa! What?" He was five feet above the ground, hovering.

 _How…?_

"Hey! You alright?" cried a voice from above him.

Loki looked up: A man in a red and blue spandex uniform and mask with big white and black eyes and a spider printed on his chest was hanging onto a white rope (was that a web?) that was attached to a building and onto another rope that was attached to Loki.

The humans continued to impress him.

"You alright?" the masked man, who sounded more like a boy, asked again.

"Yeah, I-I will be." He grabbed out his dagger and cut the rope, no it was definitely a web, that was connected to him and he dropped to the ground. He brushed himself off and his savior landed next to him. Oh yeah, he was a boy, he was far too short.

"You sure you're okay? You came flying out of nowhere."

"And who are you supposed to be?" Loki asked while catching his bearings.

"I'm your friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man," he replied.

"Oh, of course. That explains everything. Thank you."

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Spider-"Man" asked. "'Cause you like seem really familiar."

"Are you a child?" Loki asked instead of answering the Spider's question.

"What! No! I'm a man! An adult man!"

"Really, because you sound like an adolescent child." The Spider seemed to be pouting and that just proved Loki's point in his mind.

 _Spider-Man? Spider-Boy is more like it._

Stark went flying across the skyline. "That's Mr. Stark," Spider-Boy said.

"You know him?"

"Of course, he gave me my suit and he's my mentor."

"Kid, don't take offense, but I think you need a better mentor. Now, I need to go back and help the wizard doctor."

"There's a wizard doctor?" Spider-Boy exclaimed.

"Yes and you might be able to help out. Come on!" Loki took off running back to where he had left Strange. Spider-Boy swung by his webs from building to building, following Loki.

"Look, mister," Spider-Boy called from above. "I'd love to help you out with this wizard doctor, but I should really help, Mr. Stark."

"Stark can handle himself. He's probably just fighting the giant dwarf."

"There's a giant dwarf?" Spider-Boy exclaimed.

Loki sighed and shouted, "Stop acting like everything is exciting and new!"

"Sorry, but wizards and dwarfs _are_ exciting and new to me!"

Loki was not going to survive this day without having a massive headache. He and the Spider-Boy rounded the corner where he had left Strange. Maw was up and had tied Strange up with a cord or wire or something and was strangling him. Loki flicked his hand and his green magic dissolved the wire. Strange fell to his knees in a coughing fit. Spider-Boy swung on his web and surprised Maw and even managed to kick him in the jaw. Loki ran over to Strange. "Doctor, are you alright?"

Strange rubbed his tender neck. "I've been better." Loki offered him his hand, Strange reluctantly took it, and Loki pulled him back onto his feet. "Thanks." Loki nodded. "Is he a friend of yours?" Strange asked pointing to Spider-Boy who was doing rather well at fighting against Maw.

"Not really. I think he's a friend of Stark's though."

"Wonderful. Now I am tired of this alien's continual harassment."

"Then let's finish this."

Strange smirked slightly and ran to Maw. He conjured an orange sparkler wipe and caught Maw's arm. Spider-Boy webbed his other arm. Maw growled, "You pitiful humans! Why can you not just lay back and lose!" He lifted a car and threw it at Spider-Boy who did an impressive backflip to avoid it. However, there was a random teenage girl on the street who was in the path of the car.

"Spider-Boy! Get the girl!" Loki shouted, running to help Strange with the struggling Maw.

"It's Spider- _Man_!" And with that he jumped through the air, past the car, scooped up the girl, and swung her to safety. "Hey, you alright?"

The blonde girl looked shaken up, but then her eyes widen. "Oh, my God, you're Spider-Man!"

"Yeah, um, yeah. That's me."

The girl got very excitable. "You are like my favorite super hero! I absolutely love you! I'm Samantha by the way and I can't thank you enough for saving my life!"

Spider-Boy shrugged, "Well, you know it's all part of the job-"

"For star's sake!" Loki yelled. "Put her somewhere safe and get back here and help us!"

"Right! Sorry." The Spider scooped the girl up again and swung her a couple blocks over, where she'd be safe. And just in time too.

Maw hollered, "Enough!" He rose both arms up and both Loki and Strange flew backwards and hit the ground hard.

Loki didn't know how long he had been down, but his head was killing him again. He slowly sat up with a grimace and felt the side of his head with his fingers. It was wet with blood.

 _Really not a good day for head injuries._

The wind picked up again and blew through Loki's hair. He looked up and saw a triumph Maw, an unconscious Strange, and a squirming Spider-Boy all being beamed up by a blue light into the large pod ship. Once they were all inside, the ship's engines fired up and it sped up into the atmosphere. Loki just sat there dazed.

Had they failed?

Stark came flying by and stopped in front of him. His helmet opened up. "Loki, what happened?"

Loki muttered, "The good Doctor and a somewhat helpful Spider-Boy both got beamed up into the ship."

Stark's eyes widened. "Peter. Damn that kid." He took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I'm going after them. Bruce and Wong are in a park and Bruce needs to get to the base. Reindeer Games, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but you've got to make sure that the others know about Thanos and what is happening."

"You want me to assemble the remaining Avengers?" Loki asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, crazy I know." His helmet closed and he flew up after the pod ship.

Loki stayed sitting there staring at the shrinking ship and Stark until they were both out of sight. There went the Time Stone as well as three of Earth's mightiest heroes. He had to have faith that Stark and the Spider would save Strange and maybe, just maybe, prevent Thanos from gaining another stone.

But Loki had never been much of an optimistic person.

A portal opened and Bruce and Wong came through. "Loki! You okay?" Bruce questioned as he ran up to the trickster.

"I'll live." He got to his feet and stumbled only once. "Stark and the Doctor are on the ship."

"Oh no," Bruce whispered. "What do we do?"

Wong opened another portal leading to the sanctuary. "I must protect the sanctuary. Whatever you two do, I wish you both the best of luck."

Loki nodded his thanks. Wong stepped into the portal and closed it behind him. Loki sighed and pressed his palm to his head to try and stop the bleeding. "Stark told me to get you to the Avengers's base… I guess we should go there."

Bruce nodded. "Yes. That's right, Steve will be arriving with Vision. Let's see if we can call a taxi or something." Bruce headed off in a direction that would lead to a less abandoned street to hail a taxi cab. Loki tottered slowly behind and let out a deep breath for the millionth time today.

This was madness. He, Loki the God of Mischief, a person that the entire planet condemned as a terrorist and a sadist was going to help assemble a group of super heroes who would no doubt not trust a single word he said.

 _What could possibly go wrong?_

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

 _Author's Note Again: I couldn't resist the "No shit, Sherlock" line because I assume most of you know that Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) and Robert Dowling Jr. (Tony Stark) both played different versions of the famous consulting detective._

 _I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was a joy to write. I'm not sure when I'll be able to publish another chapter. I recently had all of my wisdom teeth removed and I'm still recovering._

 _P.S. To my friend Samantha, I put you in my story with Spider-Man, are you happy now?_


	3. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two: How to Assemble the Avengers without Really Trying_

Bruce had hailed a taxi; an older model with peeling daisy yellow paint. Both Loki and Bruce climbed into the back and asked the driver to take them to the Avengers upstate facility. Their driver, a sixty or seventy something year old guy with white hair, glasses, and a feathered cap, thought that they were, as he said, "joshing him." That was probably to be expected, after all Bruce looked like a disheveled, crazy person and Loki was dressed in a "weird" outfit, with a horrible cut from his left temple down to his ear. After reassuring him that they were for real, he pulled out his GPS and set off to leave the hectic and panicked city.

About twenty minutes out Bruce asked Loki, "You alright?"

"What? Yeah. I got my bloody head to finally stop bleeding. I would normally use my magic, but using too much of it in too short of a time can drain me significantly."

"That's good to know, but I meant are you alright about Thor?"

Loki removed the green cloth that he had conjured up before getting into the taxi to use to apply pressure to the cut on the side of his head. It was soaked with red, as were his hands. It was amazing how much head wounds bled.

He was still processing what Ebony Maw had claimed. In his heart he was almost sure that Thor was gone, but admitting it out loud or accepting condolences would be like the final nail in the coffin. So, as a way to keep himself from completely breaking down into a hopeless mess, he would simply do one of the things he did best.

Lie.

"Ebony Maw is a torturer, killer, and sadist ten times over. It would not be a giant stretch that he would fabricate a story to try and emotionally manipulate me."

"So…you think that he was lying about Thor being dead?"

"It's a possibility."

Bruce nodded in agreement, but didn't seem to buy it. Perhaps Loki had lost his infamous silver tongue. Or maybe this time the true was too overpowering to be covered up. It was at this point that the taxi driver piped in. "I have no idea what you two are jabbering about, but I have a question. Two actually. Maybe three."

"What is it?" Loki said not holding back his annoyance.

"Don't get snappy at me, boy," the driver said looking at Loki through the rearview mirror. "So, my first question is are you two famous or something? Because I feel like I've seen you both on the news at one time or another. My second question is why do you fellows want to go to the Avengers facility? They usually like their privacy. And my third question is why does the name "Thor" seem so familiar? It's an unusual name, but yet familiar, you know?"

Loki leaned his head against the back of the gray head rest and sighed, "I have a question, why didn't we pick a cab with a less talkative driver?"

"That's strike two, boy."

Bruce rubbed his eyes and in an attempt to keep the peace, he answered the driver's questions. "We're not famous, not really. We need to go to the Avengers facility because the Avengers are needed to save the world from an incoming threat. And finally, a guy named Thor was… _is_ a member of the Avengers."

"Of course," the driver said smacking his forehead. "Thor, God of Thunder. My wife loves that guy. Always watching him on the internet. Quite the muscular fellow, ain't he?"

Loki closed his eyes and muttered, "I'm going to try and drown this guy out. Wake me up when we get there."

The driver looked to Bruce. "Your friend is very testy."

"Well, he _is_ the God of Mischief and to be fair, we've had a hella of a day."

"Want to talk about "hella days"? Try being a taxi driver, you'll get "hella days". Although, I wasn't always a taxi driver. Once I was a FedEx delivery man and another time I was barber for some hardcore fighters. Most recently I was a school bus driver."

"Wow, you've gone through a lot of jobs," Bruce said, sounding a lot more patient and nice, then if Loki had said anything on the matter.

The taxi driver laughed, "Yeah. People ask me all the time, why don't I just retire? Well, I don't know what I would do with myself if I retired so, here I am. And honestly it's marvelous."

Loki never in his life wanted to push someone out of moving car more than he did in that moment. He was not in the mood to listen to some elder go on and on about his lovely life. But instead of committing homicide, he went to his happy place:

Him and Thor as children, running through the golden field by the silver lake. Such a beautiful day it had been. Not a cloud in the sky and the emerald green leaves seemed to glitter in the light breeze.

He was calm. He was at peace. He was not going to yell at their driver or dwell on Thor's fate or worry about the upcoming confrontation between him and the remaining Avengers. He was fine.

Obviously he wasn't but he could pretend and hide his true feelings through his sarcastic comments. It always worked in the past.

…

Once they _finally_ reached the Avengers facility, Loki practically ran out of the taxi, leaving Bruce to handle the fee. If he had to hear one more time about how their driver had seen Spider-Man in action or about the time that he had been mistaken as a celebrity by Tony Stark himself, he was going to scream.

Standing in the grass, waiting for Bruce, he looked over the facility. It didn't look like anything special: A couple story all white building with a lot of windows and a great big "A" painted on the side. He had expected something with a bit more flair or something. So far, Dr. Strange's sanctuary was more impressive.

"Next time we take a cab all the way upstate," Bruce said walking up to Loki. "You can pay the fee."

"Do you think they will accept Asgardian currency?"

"Probably not."

"Then you are left with the unfortunate burden of the fee." The two made their way up the main driveway to two double glass doors. They entered with no problem, but Loki expected someone to come and check out who was intruding. If not then the Avengers had terrible security. And as it turned out, the Avengers had terrible security, they just walked through the place like they owned it, not coming across a single soul. "Well, this is odd," he muttered.

Bruce nodded, glancing around every corner, as if he expected someone to jump out. "No hired security? Tony usually loves overprotection. It's his major personality flaw."

"Really? Won't have been my first guess. Stark is so flawed, I didn't think there would be just _one_ that outranked all of the others."

Bruce half-heartedly gave Loki a smoldering glare, but then quickly went back to concentrating on the matter at hand. "Maybe there are motion sensors that tripped a silent alarm."

"Even if that were so, where are the troops or, dare I say, Avengers to come and see what's-"

"Only one trooper today," a voice said from behind them.

They both turned around. Loki had never seen this man before. He was an African American man, about Stark's height, with large flaring nostrils and deep brown eyes. He had on a gray T-shirt and sweat pants, but on top of the pants were what appeared to be metal braces. But the thing that caught Loki's attention was the confidence in the man's voice when confronting them and his drawl gun.

The man seemed to recognize Bruce immediately and almost completely lowered his gun. "Oh, my God, Bruce?"

Bruce smiled, happy to see another familiar face after so long. "Oh, my God, Rhodey, it's been a long time."

Loki huffed impatiently, " _Oh, my God_ , please introduce me to your friend."

"Oh, right. You two have never met have you?"

Rhodey glanced over at Loki, his eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to remember where he knew him from. And then it hit him. The gun was raised back up, although this time it was only pointed at Loki.

"You're Loki," Rhodey hissed. "You attacked New York with a bunch of aliens and tried to kill my friends."

Loki rose his hands up in surrender and took a step backwards. "We're off to a wonderful start."

"Rhodey, Rhodey, hey!" Bruce said, stepping between the two of them. "Put the gun down. It's okay."

"What? Bruce he-"

"I know. _I know._ This sounds crazy, but he is here to help us with a much bigger problem that is coming. Just hear us out."

Rhodey chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking, before saying, "Tell me the fast version of what's happening and then I might put the gun down."

Loki rolled his eyes.

 _Here we go again. What will this be? The fourth time I have to explain what the hell is going on?_

"Well, first my brother was an idiot, big surprise, and then-"

Bruce waved his hand annoyed. "Shush!"

"Did you seriously just shush me?"

"The last thing we need is you pissing him off. I'll tell him what's happening."

Loki silently brooded on that, but agreed anyways. "Fine. Go ahead."

Bruce took a deep breath. "A powerful being named Thanos is after these things called Infinity Stones that will make it possible for him to wipe out half of the entire population. The gem in Vision's head is one of these stones. We told Tony and he called Steve to find Vision. Tony went after an alien pod ship that has a man who has another stone and he told Loki to get me here and to make sure everyone knows what is happening."

Rhodey lowered his gun.

"So, Tony is…?"

"In space? Yeah."

"And Cap is what? Coming here once he finds Vision?"

"Your friend catches on fast," Loki mussed.

Rhodey shook his head, suddenly appearing tired. "What a day. First the council meeting, now this…"

"Council meeting?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. Because of the Accords there is a monthly mandatory meeting with all of the heads of security…Oh, wait, you wouldn't know anything about the Accords."

"No, I don't."

"I'm sorry," Loki interrupted, "but can I put my hands down and can we prepare for the dear Captain's arrival, when we have to explain everything once again?"

Rhodey holstered his gun. "You can put your hands down, but I'm going to keep an eye on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Loki crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"And yes, we should prepare for Steve and the other's arrivals. But I got to get rid of the council and you two have to stay hidden. If the council saw either of you, there would be hell to pay."

Loki glanced at Bruce, who glanced at him. "You don't know what he's talking about either, I assume." Bruce shook his head no. "Good. It's not just me."

Rhodey motioned them to follow him. "You can wait in one of our meeting rooms. If there is time I can explain this whole Accords thing later."

"Is knowing what they are a matter of life or death?" Bruce asked.

"Well, no."

"Then forget about explaining them to me period."

"Fair enough, although you _have_ to explain to me later how you ended up working with _him_."

Loki smirked. "It's an amusing little story. But let's go to this meeting room first." The three of them went through the corridors that Loki and Bruce had already gone through, but this time they took a left that lead to an atrium with glass ceilings and a lot of light. They then went up a flight of stairs. That's when Rhodey had to slow down, no doubt because of the brace things.

"You alright?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. I was in an accident that kinda paralyzed me, but Tony came up with these things." He knocked on the side of the metal brace. "I can get around pretty good, but stairs are still the enemy."

Bruce shook his head sadly, the same way he had at Strange's sanctuary. "You really do miss a lot in two years."

They finished their climb up the clear stairs and went to a room with large windows and a black glossy table surrounded by plastic chairs. There was a cappuccino machine in the corner. The walls were a bright white, like a doctor's office. Loki looked around unimpressed. "So, did your interior decorator say that they wanted to make the whole place look modern and boring and did you all agree with their poor style?"

Rhodey ignored him and instead spoke to Bruce. "I'll be over in the next room trying to get rid of the council." He pulled what look like a very slender and clear cellphone from his pocket. He pressed a blue button and pulled up several holographs of security camera footage. He set the "phone" on the table. "You'll be able to see when Cap and the others get here."

"Thanks Rhodey," Bruce said with a nod.

Rhodey smiled at Bruce and patted his shoulder. He turned to leave and sent an icy stare Loki's direction. After he left, Loki sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs and put his feet up on the table, making himself at home. "You do realize, I still don't know who that guy was."

Bruce sat down by the holographs and went about looking through the different camera angles. "His name is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes or "Rhodey" or "War Machine". He's best friends with Tony."

"What makes him so special to be part of the super hero team?"

"He has a suit like Tony's."

"So, he's a knockoff of Iron Man?"

"No, he has a big gun on his shoulder and his suit is gray and silver." Loki gave Bruce an unconvinced look. "Yeah, okay. He's sort of a knockoff, but not really. It would probably be better if you didn't have your feet up on the table when the others come. You know, semi-first impressions."

"Bruce, the second they see me they're going to be like everyone else we've met today. "Gasp! It's Loki! He's bad! Let's run away or threaten his life." Sound about right?"

Bruce frowned while continuing to look through the camera angles, picking out the best ones to have up while they waited. "To be fair, none of them really have a reason to trust you."

Loki glanced down at his stained hands and sat up right with his feet on the floor. "Do you trust me?"

Bruce paused. It was a question that Loki had mildly wondered about since the man seemed to be constantly vouching for him ever since they had made it back to Earth. And for some reason he truly cared what Bruce's answer was. It wasn't so much that he wanted Bruce Banner to trust him, it was that he desperately wanted _somebody_ to trust him. Even if only partially. Like Thor did.

"You helped rescue the people on Asguard, you didn't betray us to Hela, and you want to help fight Thanos. Yeah, I trust you. For the most part."

Loki sat back and nodded, contemplating. _"For the most part."_ That was enough.

…

When you are the God of Mischief and your mind is constantly calculating your next move or next trick, waiting is an utter agony. Loki had sat at the table, paced around the room, checked out the cappuccino machine, stared out the window, tried washing his blood stained hands, and glanced over the security footage all within twenty minutes. He was in the middle of pacing again, his hands, now looking less stained, clasped behind his back and his mind focused on the inevitable meeting with the remaining Avengers. Bruce seemed content with sitting in one place watching the holographs.

 _Well, good for him!_

"You know, I never realized how antsy you are," Bruce said.

"I'm not antsy, just anxious. Sometimes waiting is easy when I know the outcome of things. But this is ridiculous. How long since your friend, Road, or whatever left to get rid of this Accords council?"

"It's _Rhodey_ , and about twenty-three minutes ago."

Loki groaned and took his seat again. "Stars above, this is the longest day of my life."

Bruce half chuckled, "Really? Out of your entire life? Aren't you like a thousand or something years old?"

"I'm thirteen hundred and twenty-five years old…and seven months."

Bruce let out an impressed whistle. "Jesus, man. You Asgardians do live, like, forever."

"Not forever. Hardly forever. And I'm not an Asgardian."

Loki was silent after that, lost in his own thoughts of impatience and memories of the past.

Bruce pulled up the camera footage of Rhodey still talking with the heads of security. He had recognized General Ross right away, the man who had tirelessly tried to capture him and use the Hulk as a weapon. How the hell had he been put in this position of power? Perhaps these Accord things explained it. Or maybe not. Perhaps these Accords were the reason for the Avengers breaking up like a band.

A small red light flashed in the corner of the holographs, alerting them that someone was there. Bruce flipped back to the main entrance cameras and saw the team. "Loki, they're here."

"Joy to the blessed world, it took them long enough." Loki stood up again and watched over Bruce's shoulder. Captain Steve Rogers was the first person he saw. "Bloody hell, what happened to him?" He looked awful. The clean shaven, blonde haired, Boy Scout was replaced by this dark and gritty and _bearded_ man.

Bruce sputtered, "I, um, I have no…" He shook his head in equal surprise. Then came Natasha Romanoff, still looking as sleek in black leather as ever, but her fiery red hair was now platinum blonde. "Nat," Bruce said in a soft whisper.

Loki heard the softness and the slight passion in that one word and it surprised him even more than a bearded Captain America. "Wait…you and the scary assassin lady are a…couple?"

Bruce opened his mouth in shock. "Ahh, um, I uh, yeah. Sort of?"

"Huh, I must admit, I honestly did not see that one coming."

The rest of group came in and Loki had never seen a single one of them before. There was another African American man with what looked like a jet pack on, a fair haired woman who wore too many rings and had too much eyeliner on, and a red man in a gray uniform and a yellow cape. He assumed that the latter was this "Vision" person because in the middle of his red forehead was the golden Mind Stone. Vision appeared to be injured and the two Loki had no idea who they were, were supporting Vision and helping him to walk.

They were all heading for the room that Rhodey was still in trying to get rid of those pesky holograph council members. Well, they were still there when Captain Rogers and company came in. Ross ordered their arrest. "Hey, stay here," Bruce said, getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to listen in."

"We have access to camera footage and audio, we _are_ listening in."

Bruce ignored him and left the meeting room, shutting the door behind him. He wanted to make sure everything was okay. And also he wanted to give the team a little heads up about Loki so they wouldn't be as surprised as everyone else they had come in contact with today. He snuck in through the second door that lead to the room that everyone was in and heard Rhodey disconnect the call with the council and then all their holographs disappeared.

He listened as Rhodey reunited with the team that he had apparently not seen in a while. "You guys look terrible, but I'm so glad to see you."

Steve was the first to speak and he sounded like a soldier who had been beaten down with time, "It's good to see you too, Rhodey." Steve and Rhodey shook hands and patted each other on the backs. "I wish it was under better circumstances. Tony was right, two highly trained aliens tried to take the stone from Vision."

"But we were there so, it all worked out," said a voice that Bruce knew belonged to Sam Wilson.

"Where is Tony?" Steve asked. "He said he'd meet us here."

Rhodey shook his head. "Tony isn't here."

"But I am," Bruce said walking out from his hiding place into the center of the room. He assumed that everyone looked shocked at his sudden appearance, but he focused all of his attention on Natasha. Her hair was different but it didn't matter because she was still her, beautiful and deadly. Her eyes showed him all the emotions going through her: confusion, then surprise, and finally a glimmer of happiness.

"Hey, Bruce," she said causally as if they hadn't been apart for two years.

He smiled at her, enjoying this tiny moment of calmness, as it would be the only one they would have for a while. And then Sam shattered the moment. "Well, this is awkward," he whispered to Vision and Wanda Maximoff.

Bruce chuckled, "I didn't mean to make it awkward. Or to be all dramatic like with my entrance."

Steve stepped forward and patted him on the back. "I'm glad you're back, Bruce."

"Yeah, me too. But, ah, I'm afraid the reunion will have to wait till later."

"Yes," Wanda agreed in her thick accent of hers. "Vis is hurt and I want to know who those people were who did this."

"And I believe, Dr. Banner said that Tony isn't here," Vision said from her side.

Bruce nodded. "That's true. Tony had other things to take care of, but he instructed us to assemble the remaining team."

"Us?" Sam asked. "Meaning you and Rhodey?"

"No, meaning me and…and…" The group looked expectedly at Bruce, except Rhodey who just crossed his arms. Bruce swallowed and tried again. "Look, whatever you do, any of you, please don't overreact." He walked out of the room, Rhodey motioning for them to follow. Steve and Natasha gave each other a, this seems odd, look and followed. Wanda and Sam continued to help Vision.

When they all entered the meeting room that was right next to the room that they had just been in, they all saw Loki in his traditional green and black outfit with a scaring head wound, sitting at the big table fiddling with the holographs of camera footage. He looked up and smirked. "Surprise," he said in a sing-song fashion.

" _You_ ," Natasha said in disbelief.

" _Me_." Loki closed down the holographs and eyed Natasha and Steve with amusement. "I know. It's been a while."

"Loki," Steve said as if to convince himself that the trickster was in fact there.

Loki was enjoying seeing the two heroes who he such an interesting history with act in such surprise. The three newbies stood near the door way and even they looked surprised. It wasn't as amusing to see their reactions as it was with the dear Captain and (what did she go by?) Black Spider. No, Black _Widow_ , that was it.

The man with the jet back shook his head and said, "Wait, hold up. Loki, as in the attack in New York Loki?"

"The very same," Loki said calmly.

"Well…crap. Cap…?"

Steve, who had never taken his eyes off of Loki, asked Bruce, "Tony wanted you and Loki to get us together?"

Loki was faster than Bruce. "He didn't really _want_ me to be involved, but under these dire circumstances, he was able to put aside the past for a while."

Natasha scoffed, "Tony is nice guy, but he has made some terrible decisions in the past few years. I don't trust his judgment anymore. And how do we know that you," she pointed at Loki, "haven't brainwashed Bruce or Tony or anyone else?"

Loki sighed with irritation. "Well, let's see, first the only time I did that was five years ago and it wasn't with my powers, it was with the scepter's power. And I can't really brainwash anyone with the scepter since the stone that powered it is currently in your Vision's head over there."

"Yeah and Nat," Bruce started, pulling Natasha's attention away from Loki. "I'm pretty sure that _you_ would be able to tell if I was under some sort of mind control magic."

It was silent for a minute or so, while Natasha thought over what Bruce had said. Loki sighed again, waiting impatiently for them to move past the whole "should we trust Loki or not" portion of the meeting and get down to important business. Natasha finally decided that she knew Bruce well enough to know if something was wrong with his mind and she decided that nothing was currently wrong with his mind. Well, maybe there was something wrong with Bruce's mind, after all he was working with a former dangerous criminal.

"Fine," Natasha said. "Bruce, I believe you are under no spell or anything weird like that and I trust you to relay Tony's message, but I don't have to trust-"

"Me?" Loki said. "Yes, I know. Nobody trusts me. This is not the first time we've done this today. Can we please just move on?"

Bruce nodded and sat down at the table. Everyone reluctantly came further into the room. Steve stood by the window behind where Loki sat, probably to have a vantage point in case he became a "threat", Natasha sat close to Bruce, Rhodey went off to the cappuccino machine to get some much needed caffeine, the man with the jet pack went with Rhodey, Vision stood near the head of the table holding his side and told the girl who was helping him, "Wanda", that he was okay, and Wanda slowly left his side to sit on the same side of the table as Loki, but far away.

When this Wanda girl walked by Loki, giving him an icy glare of course, he could have sworn that her brown eyes had flashed a blood red hue for a split second. Very few things made him do double takes, but that did. He found himself staring at her with mild curiosity when she sat down. She glanced at him and her expression showed her dislike for him looking at her.

"What?" she snapped, in an accent that Loki had no clue where it was from.

"Nothing. Your eyes did a color change a minute ago."

"Well, they do that sometimes."

"I noticed."

" _Obviously_."

She had fire in her, he had to give her that. "You've got spunk," he said with a smirk. Wanda didn't drop her glare at him, but she nervously fidgeted with the multiple rings on her fingers. He had once been told that he could make people uncomfortable with his long gazes and mischievous smirks. He had never taken that too seriously, Thor probably had said it, but now he knew how true a statement it was.

"Hey," the man with the jet pact said stepping up beside Wanda, as if to protect her. "Why don't you stop being a creeper and quit staring."

Loki chuckled at that. "Why, you're an annoying one. Is that the qualification for joining the Avengers? Must be super human, with the fabled moral high ground and an irritating personality."

"The name's Sam Wilson."

"I didn't ask."

"And I suggest that you shut up before I make you."

Loki playfully rose his hands up in surrender and then crossed his arms and turned to Bruce. "Anytime you're ready."

Bruce frowned. "Yeah, anytime you want to stop causing scenes."

Loki bit his tongue. He totally could've pointed out that he was just curious about the girl's eyes and that this Sam Wilson started it, but they did have more important things to do, so…

Bruce started from the beginning: "This whole time that I was gone I was the Hulk and on an alien plant. Thor found me and I was able to change back to, well, me. He and Loki had some issues with their sister and-"

"Wait, Thor has a sister?" Rhodey asked.

"Well, he did, but she kind of wanted to destroy everything, so Thor, Loki, myself and some others fought against her and saved the Asgardians-"

"You went to Asgard?" Sam asked impressed.

"Yes."

"What was it like?" Sam asked, sitting next to Wanda.

"Well, it was big, golden, on fire…" Sam looked confused. "Like I said, Thor's sister wanted to destroy _everything_."

"But you digress," Loki added.

"Yes. I digress, we were successful in saving everyone just before Asgard blew up."

"It blew up?" Rhodey asked.

Loki rolled his eyes. This was going to take forever. "Q and A after Bruce's story, got it?" He nodded for Bruce to continue.

"Well, anyways, everything was going okay after that. We were in a space ship heading for Earth, when another ship came and attacked us." Bruce took a deep breath. "The captain of that ship is a being named Thanos and he wants to wipe out half of the universe."

Captain Rogers ignored Loki's command that nobody ask another question till the end of the story. "How does he plan to go about this?"

Bruce eyed Loki.

 _Guess that means I'm up._

"Thanos wishes to harness the power from the six Infinity Stones. They are stones of unmatchable power. You've come in contact with some of them in the last few years."

"The Tesseract," Natasha said in realization.

"Yup. As well as the gem in your Vision's head. Thanos already has two stones, no doubt he will be searching the cosmos for the other two, and two were on Earth."

" _"Were"._ Past tense," Vision mumbled, looking like he was having trouble standing. "I assume that those two that attacked me were not the only ones to disrupt people's lives." Loki had to admit that he had never seen anything like Vision before. He was as Stark had said an android, made completely out of synesthetic materials and yet he was no soulless robot. Was it because of Stark and Bruce's revolutionary craftsmanship or because of the Mind Stone?

Bruce spoke up. "Thor managed to send Loki and I away from the ship and we landed in New York. We met a wizard named Dr. Strange, who was in possession of one of these stones. We contacted Tony, told him everything, and had him call Steve. Then two aliens came and they took Strange with his stone. Tony went after him."

Vision stumbled around the table and asked Loki, "With all the stones, he can do it can't he? Wipe out half the universe?"

Loki nodded, suddenly feeling the weight of the situation in his chest. "He can do it with a snap of his fingers and then boom. It certainly is much more effective than his previous plan of going planet by planet, killing half of its population."

Rhodey stepped forward to the table. "You seem to know a lot about this Thanos guy."

Loki glanced down at the surface of the table; it was so glossy he could see his reflection. His cut either needed stitches or his magic. He quietly said, "He gave me the scepter and the army that I used to attack New York."

Sam and Wanda gave each other a look of surprise, Natasha's eyes widened in anger, Rhodey exclaimed, "What?" Bruce glanced around at his team worriedly. What the dear Captain and Vision's reactions were, Loki didn't know because they were behind him.

"So, hang on!" Sam said shaking his hands in the air. "You were working for the guy who is now trying to kill us?"

Loki huffed, "Why does everyone think that? _No_ , I wasn't working for him. He gave me what I wanted and he wanted the scepter and the Tesseract in return, but I was never going to give them to him."

Natasha chuckled humorlessly, similarly to the way Stark had at Strange's sanctuary. "Why? Because you're such a good person?"

Loki was getting fed up with this. "Did you not just hear what Thanos wants to do? Half of the entire universe, just gone. I may be morally ambiguous, but that is insanity."

"Morally ambiguous?" Rhodey said. "Try murderer."

Loki glared at the man and said through gritted teeth, "The point is, the past doesn't matter right now." Rhodey shook his head unconvinced. "We have to have a plan for when Thanos or his children arrive for your Vision's stone."

"" _We"_? There is no we," Wanda said. "As far as I am concerned, you're just as bad as Thanos."

Loki tried very hard to not snap, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure that he was successful. "Please, don't insult me. You and I just met, but I can assure you I am nothing like that monster."

"Yeah, sure, whatever delusions you tell yourself," Natasha mussed. "But so far, we have the threat of a man who we've never met and you, the evil mastermind who tried to kill his own brother. So far, I think you're worse."

Loki stood up so fast that the plastic chair slammed to the ground. The second he had stood in such aggression, everyone was standing up. Rhodey, Sam, and Natasha all pulled out guns and Wanda took a fighter's stance. No one was taking any chances. Bruce stood with his hands out. "Hey, hey! Whoa! Everyone calm down!"

"The God started it!" Sam said, keeping both of his handheld guns trained on Loki.

Not that the trickster even noticed everyone's scared looks. All that he could see through his suddenly red vision was Natasha. He was so mad he thought he might start shaking. "Now you listen to me," he said in a dangerous, low tone. "I don't care what you think of me. Any of you. But you must cease the constant attempts at trying to proof that I'm not trustful in this situation. Because despite what you believe, I have no allegiance to Thanos and I did care about Thor dearly, even though he's an idiot. And if you are to believe Thanos's children, then Thor is dead by Thanos's hands."

After hearing that, everyone shared glances with each other. Steve finally said something for the first time in a while and he only said one word, "Bruce?" He wanted confirmation from a _trustful_ individual. Bruce sadly nodded. The air in the room shifted from intense tension to a solemn mood. Thor had been one of the first Avengers and a friend to the others, but it was worse for Loki.

He had said it out loud.

Now it was true.

He could feel the tears in the back of his eyes, desperately wanting to form but he pushed them back and continued on. "I want to stop Thanos just as much as you all do. Maybe more. I am willing to help, only if you allow me."

Natasha's eyes looked him over, searching for a crack in his story. Looking for a hint of a lie so she could prove him a fraud and not have to contemplate about the possibility that he could be trustful. And when she couldn't find any, she remembered what Loki had done to Clint. She shook her head. "I can't speak for everyone else, but I _can't_ trust you."

Loki leaned forward, placing his hands on the edge of the table. "Then don't trust me, trust my rage."

That seemed to strike the group. Wanda was the first to lower her hands and stand more naturally, no longer ready to fight. Rhodey and Sam shared a glance and lowered their guns slightly. Bruce looked at Loki sympathetically. Loki really wished that he would keep his sympathies to himself. When Natasha still hadn't lowered her gun, Steve walked around from behind Loki and up to her and Bruce. "Nat?" he asked. She glanced at him, he raised his eyebrows expectedly, she sighed.

"Fine." She lowered the gun completely and even holstered it. Her eyes were steal when she turned to Loki and said, "We'll work with you. But you should know that I'm not going to put forth the same effort to help you as I would any of my other teammates."

"Meaning?" Loki asked, still fuming from the emotional rollercoaster that this conference had been.

"Meaning if this turns into a fight and you're in trouble, if you're about to die, I will not try and save you as I would anybody else. I would sooner let you die."

Loki was silent for a split second before half smiling. "Hmm…There was a reason why I liked you, Agent Romanoff." And just like that, he did what he did best. Push his hurt back by being sarcastic. "Except I don't like your current hair style. You look much better as a red-head. The blonde clashes too much with your pale complexion."

Natasha shook her head in disbelief. "Fashion advice from the crazy guy."

"I'm hardly crazy."

Sam scoffed, "Personally, I think the jury's still out."

Bruce sighed and wiped his forehead, looking massively stressed out, but there was no hint of green. "Okay, now that we got that all settled, we do need to have a plan for when Thanos comes. We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?"

"Yes, whatever did happen to Clint Barton?" Loki asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Natasha said in an even tone.

"Yes, that's why I asked."

She ignored him and told Bruce, "After the Accords, he and Scott made a deal with the feds so they didn't have to be separated from their families."

"Who's Scott?" Bruce asked.

"Ant-Man," Sam replied, sitting back down.

Bruce blinked. "There's a Spider-Man and an Ant-Man?"

His question would remain unanswered as Vision stepped away from the window he had been staring out of for a spell. "I think I have a solution." Everyone watched the android slowly walk closer to Wanda. "I've thought it over and I have come to the conclusion that Thanos cannot prevail without all of the stones. So we simply destroy my stone." Vision's fingers reached for the gem in his forehead and he felt the smooth edges.

Loki once again was impressed by the android's intelligence and warmness. But he shook his head at Vision's suggestion. "It won't work. Thor once tried to destroy a stone with the full power of his lightning and it did nothing."

Vision calmly stated, "The only way to cut a diamond is with another diamond. Perhaps the only way to destroy the stone is with another stone." He turned to Wanda. "Or at the very least with powers similar to the stone." Wanda shook her head, suddenly looking afraid. "Wanda, you gained your powers from the stone, you're the only one who could potentially destroy it."

 _If you destroy the stone, would that destroy the Vision as well?_

Apparently everyone thought so. Wanda grew angry. "And what would happen to you? Vis, I'm not doing it."

Steve agreed, "We don't trade lives, Vision. We can't ask you to do this."

Vision faced Steve. "Captain Rogers, you were willing to give up your life for thousands of innocent people seventy years ago. This is not different."

"Yes it is. I didn't have a choice, you do."

Bruce nodded. "Exactly. Vision, you are made up of so many complex systems, Tony, me, J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, the stone. If we could find a way of removing the stone without disrupting these other systems, maybe-"

"He would be okay?" Wanda asked, hope filling her eyes.

Bruce nodded, but then added, "I think so. I would need to go to a lab with much more advanced technology."

Steve smiled slightly. "I know where we have to go. We have to go to Wakanda, it has the tech that Bruce needs and quite possibly the manpower needed to fight Thanos."

Loki thought over their plan: go to some place called Wakanda to pick up fighters and technology to get the gem out of Vision's head so they could destroy it so Thanos couldn't use his gauntlet and snap his fingers and wipe out half the universe. Loki sighed. He had heard worst plans in his lifetime.

"So, this is the plan then?" he asked. "Get the stone out, destroy it, and worry about all the damage Thanos can do with the other five stones later?" Steve nodded with no sense of fear whatsoever. He truly was the ultimate soldier. Loki sighed again and rubbed his aching head. "In that case, let's make sure that your Vision doesn't die before getting to this Wakanda place."

Loki closed his eyes. He twisted his hand and a slight green glow grew around it. Vision looked down at his left side in surprise as the same glow formed around his injury. He saw just in time that the deep, poorly mended wound closed up good as new. Vision felt his side and stood straight with new found strength. Loki just about fell against the table with a slight groan.

"Hey, you okay?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Loki said breathlessly, feeling very exhausted. "It's like what I said in the taxi. I use too much of my powers and I drain myself, hence why I still have the head wound, but I figured he," Loki half-heartedly pointed to Vision, "should be completely free of any injuries."

"Thank you," Vision said with such genuine appreciation that it caught Loki off guard.

He turned to the android and met his green gray artificial eyes. "Yeah, sure. It's fine."

Vision felt his side again. "Remarkable. Feels as if it never even happened. Your powers must be very impressive to be able to completely regenerate materials that are not of flesh and blood. Not even Wanda can do that perfectly."

Loki shook his head. "Well, I've had a little practice. You're not the first machine based person I've met."

"Oh? Who else have you met?"

"One of Thanos's step-daughters…Very feisty. Very, _very_ feisty." Loki found himself lost in the forgotten past about his time on Thanos's ship for a moment. The only enjoyment was talking with the feisty and yet vulnerable step-daughter who was mostly made of metal parts, and yet she still had flesh to cover up the machinery.

 _When flesh meets machine you get a cyborg. But she always hated that term._

Rhodey cleared his throat. "We should head for Wakanda."

Steve nodded and went about giving orders. "Rhodey pack a suit and get a plane ready. Sam go with him and send a message to T'Challa. Let him know we're coming and what's happening. Everyone be ready to go in five minutes. Let's do this."

Steve and Natasha left together, maybe to stock up on ammunition, Sam and Rhodey went off to do what the dear Captain ordered them to do, Vision thanked Loki again and left as well. Loki slowly walked towards the door. Boy, he had really outdone himself. He wasn't going to be of much help if he could barely even walk.

"You sure you're okay?" Bruce asked again.

"Yes. Besides, now the Vision will be ready for the inevitable battle." Bruce smirked like he knew the answer to some inside joke. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking you're not that bad after all."

After a day like what he was having, that was the nicest thing Bruce could have said. But he tried to shrug it off. "Well, the Vision seems like a nice…artificial person?"

"I only know a little about the guy, but he is extraordinary. He lifted Thor's hammer once."

Loki stopped dead in his tracks. "He did _what_?"

Bruce nodded and bit back a laugh. "Yeah. Surprised all of us too."

"Well, he…that, wow."

"Yeah."

Loki shook his head. The Vision wasn't just an android with life, but a worthy being to possess the power of Thor.

That _was_ extraordinary.

Bruce parted ways with Loki after they left the meeting room, to go to one of the many labs to get some important science thing that Loki didn't even begin to try and pretend what it was. As he walked down the stairs to the atrium he became aware that someone was following him. Everyone else had left, except for-

"Is there something on your mind, Wanda?" He turned and saw the dark eyed girl standing at the top of the stairs. "It is Wanda, isn't it?"

She held her head high and marched down the stairs until they were at the same level. "I want you to know that I will be watching you very closely. Think of me as your shadow."

"And why do I owe the pleasure?"

Wanda huffed and Loki thought her eyes had that red hue again. "You're dangerous and a wild card. I'll be watching for any moment you try and betray us. And I should warn you, if you do betray us, I will go inside your head and twist everything around until you don't even know who you are."

Usually when he was being threatened he was either annoyed or angered. Not this time. He was fascinated. With this girl, who had the guts to threaten him alone without any of her teammates around and who apparently had the power to do the things she threatened to do, he felt amused. He smirked and mused, "You really do have spunk."

Wanda rolled her eyes and pushed past him. Well, this whole thing could have all gone better, but it could have gone a hella of a lot worse. Wanda paused and turned back. "Tony Stark asked you to help assemble us and get Bruce here."

"And I would say, mission accomplished."

"You acted like the biggest jerk, making quip after quip. You think that was a good job?"

Loki liked this girl. The Vision was lucky to have her. "Probably not, but I have a perfectly logical explanation for why I did such a poor job assembling you all."

"Oh?"

"I wasn't really trying." And with that he walked past her and readied himself for the plane ride to this Wakanda place.

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

 _Author's Note: I'm feeling a lot better after this whole wisdom teeth thing and thank you to those who said get well. (And of course to all of you!) This chapter was fun to write and I realize it got long. I find that the more I write in a story, the longer the chapters get. I don't know if that's good or bad._

 _Anyways, the reason I had the Avengers facility have semi-terrible security is because it was the only way I could explain how Captain America and all the others came in without setting off some sort of big obnoxious alarm. I mean, in IW, they all just come strolling in. So there has to literally be no guards or anything, because if there had been, they would've been stopped. The only guys who are usually there at the facility all the time anyways are Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and maybe Pepper, so the guys are probably like, "Like yeah, we don't need to pay for guards or anything like that cause we're badass super heroes. Just have a system like "Friday" or "J.A.R.V.I.S." watch all the cameras and alert whoever's around with a silent alarm. That will be enough!" And Pepper just slaps her forehead. (I feel that there would be a hella of lot more security if Peter Parker had decided to join the Avengers. Peter-"Hey, Mr. Stark, what's this?" *picks up dangerous thing innocently* Tony-"Kid! Put that down right now!" *later tell Vision they need to childproof the whole facility*)_

 _On another note, if you didn't already figure it out, Loki and Bruce's taxi driver was supposed to be Stan Lee, without me coming right out and saying it was Stan Lee. It's not a Marvel story without a Stan Lee cameo!_

 _Hope to have another chapter up soon! Laters!_

 _P.S. Can you guess who the first "machine based person" that Loki met was?_


	4. Chapter Three

_Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update, but this is a super big chapter. Like huge, so sorry for its length. But I'm not that sorry, because it is all necessary and I enjoyed writing it all. So…Sorry not sorry? Enjoy!_

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 _Chapter Three: Scarlet Witch and her Intrusive Powers_

Rhodey, Sam, and Vision were already on the sleek silver Quinjet like plane when Loki arrived at the landing pad, still being followed by Wanda. The ramp was lowered with little white lights along the side. He walked up the ramp and was soon onboard; to both sides there were rows of gray plane seats with harnesses for take-offs and landings. Vision stood in a small nook off to the right where there was a desk with several computer and holograph screens, with various statics and other information scrolling in some sort of order. Rhodey and Sam were sitting in the two pilot seats in the cockpit surrounded by hundreds of lit up buttons and switches. There were no windows except for the ones in the cockpit.

The whole place reminded Loki of the S.H.I.E.L.D. issued jet plane that he had been on with Stark and the dear Captain when they were heading to the Helicarrier where Nick Fury planned to cage him. He remembered sitting on that plane going over the steps in his head for his massive takeover plan.

 _Stars, that feels like a lifetime ago._

He sat down on one of the cushioned seats to the left; Wanda sat directly across from him. She really meant what she said about being his shadow. She crossed her arms and her legs and hardened her stare at him. It almost made him chuckle. _Almost_. It was also slightly annoying because he was pretty sure he had already proved that he could be trusted for the time being. Or at the very least, they could trust his rage.

"So, Wanda, what's your other name?" he asked, deciding to try and attempt small talk.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"You know, your super hero name. "Captain America", "Iron Man", "The Incredible Hulk". What's yours?"

She tilted her head to the side and sighed in irritation. "Sometimes people in the media call me "Scarlet Witch". There, you happy?"

"Tremendously so. But why Scarlet Witch? You are neither scarlet colored nor a witch."

"Hey, I'm not asking you why you're called "The God of Mischief" or whatever."

"No, because it's quite obvious why," he said in a low voice with a smirk. She started fidgeting with her rings again.

Bruce came onto the plane with a large black bag filled to the brim with science things and started hurriedly unloading them on the desk in the "science" nook. He explained what every piece of equipment was to Vision who nodded patiently at Bruce's over the top explanations. Two minutes later, Bruce's bag was empty, he was talked out, and Natasha and the dear Captain climbed onboard.

"Ready to take-off?" Steve asked Rhodey and Sam walking up to the cockpit.

"All set, Cap," Sam said and Rhodey nodded in agreement.

"You sent out the message to T'Challa that we're coming?"

"Yup."

"Alright, then let's go."

The engines fired up and Loki could see exhaust coming from the two repulsor like engines before the ramp closed up. Natasha, Steve, and Vision all sat with Wanda and they all buckled up their harnesses. Bruce deliberately sat next to Loki and they put on their harnesses as well. Rhodey manned the plane as pilot, while Sam was co-pilot. He checked his screens to make sure everything was ready and when he was happy with the results, he said, "And we are ready for take-off." He flipped the necessary switches and soon the plane was in the midst of a vertical take-off. And even sooner they were reaching a high altitude and were amongst the blue sky and white cotton ball clouds.

Well, that wasn't all that bad of a take-off. Loki wasn't really sure what he had expected, but it certainly was a lot smoother than some take-offs he remembered. He remembered the time when he, Thor, and Jane Foster had stolen that Elf ship to travel to the dark world to stop that dreadful Elf, whose name he forgot, from unleashing the Aether, also known as the Reality Stone. Their ship had been one of the many that had crashed into the palace and was no longer infested with Elves. Thor had piloted it and had knocked into literally all of the elegant marble columns that were in the grand hall. Well…not _all_ of them. Loki had pointed that out.

" _I think you missed_ a _column."_

" _Shut up!"_

…Why did thinking about that hurt?

It wasn't like it was a memory about the good, happy days or about the mistakes and regrets. It was just a memory about that one time they had to work together but really didn't want to work together to stop an evil threat from destroying the world as they knew it.

He knew why it hurt.

With Thor gone, everything they had was also gone, including the bickering. And remembering what it had been like between them, at any time, was like being stabbed with a ten inch long dagger through the heart. He sighed deeply and followed the others' example by unbuckling his harness. He couldn't go on pretending that Thor's death didn't affect him as much as it did. He had to properly mourn him.

When the battle was won. When everything was said and done and Thanos was no longer a threat, he would mourn the loss of his brother. For now, he would be the God of Mischief.

"So, _Red_ ," he said looking at Natasha. "Why the blonde hair anyway? Did you want to see if you could find a new spring look?"

Natasha finished unbuckling her harness, stood up, ignored Loki completely, and asked Bruce, "Hey, do you want to show me what all the equipment onboard is for?"

Bruce eagerly nodded and went with her to the science nook to tell her all about the science crap he brought. Loki sighed again. Bruce was a nice guy, but man, he liked to speak about boring things that did not interest him at all. Oh well, maybe things would get more exciting.

…

This was how the first thirty minutes on the plane went: Rhodey piloted the plane, while Sam sat in the co-pilot seat typing at a computer and occasionally saying a few words to him, Bruce and Natasha chatted about science things, Wanda and Vision sat side by side giving each other short googly eyed stares, the dear Captain stood up by the cockpit, probably to know where they were at all times, and Loki sat in the semi-uncomfortable seat, utterly bored out of his mind. It wasn't like he didn't try and make things more lively, it was just that the Avengers were rude people.

Every time he asked a sarcastic question or made a funny quip, these people just glared at him, or worse, ignored him. Did these people not work with Tony Stark? Were they not already used to a smartass? Did they not know to just play along? At least Thor would have said something. Bruce probably would have said something at his, "So how does a relationship between a man who can become a green monster and a heartless assassin work?" question, if he hadn't been so busy trying to reconnect and impress said assassin.

"So, I was reading about Wakanda on the computer, right," Bruce was telling Natasha. "Did you know they are by far the most technological advanced country in the entire world?"

Loki softly scoffed, "Bet it is still eons behind Asgardian technology."

Bruce apparently heard him. "Well, I don't know about that, but I swear this place is like candy land for a guy like me."

Loki shrugged. "You should have gone to the science halls in Asgard. Would have probably been better."

Steve glanced over at Loki with an unreadable expression. "Don't knock Wakanda till you see it. It might surprise you. Or an even more amazing feat, impress you."

"My dear Captain, I do so very much doubt that."

"Ten bucks says your wrong."

Loki laughed at that. "Petty bets against a so-called above the average Midgardian city? Count me in!"

Steve frowned and went back to paying attention to the cockpit. At that moment, Bruce yawned a large and obnoxious yawn. "Boy," Bruce said afterwards, rubbing his eyes.

"Tired Bruce?" Natasha said rubbing his arm with the tips of her fingers.

"Well, uh…" he said slightly flustered at her touch. "Yeah, I mean we probably were only on that ship for a couple of days before Thanos came so, we didn't have that long to get rested up, and then Loki and I have been on the go ever since, so…yeah. I am a little tired."

"You should get some rest," Steve said. "It will be a few hours before we get there away."

Vision stood up. "I agree. You need to be at your best both physically and mentally when we arrive. Sleep is key." He turned to Loki. "I think that applies to you as well. Especially since you said that using your powers in long bursts tires you out. You should both take this time to recharge."

"Okay, Vis, I think they get it," Wanda said standing up as well.

"Actually, no, I did not understand a single word. Tell it all to me again," Loki said with a smirk.

Vision half-smiled, but Wanda just gave him that hard stare of her's. She walked away from the row of seats and up to Bruce. "Dr. Banner, you can get some sleep by laying on the seats." She motioned her hand to the seats that she and Vision had just vacated.

Bruce shook his head. "No, guys it's really not that-" he yawned again.

Natasha said, "Alright, that's it. To bed, mister."

"But-"

"Nuh-uh, no "buts". Vision is right."

Bruce shrugged sheepishly. "Well, okay." He walked to the right row of seats and laid down across the seats with his head pointed at the door. Within a matter of minutes, he was snoring.

Loki decided to follow Bruce's example, by laying down across his row of seats, although he had his feet pointed towards the door. It was an old survival instinct. But the Vision had made a valid point that he should take advantage of the time to rest up. Besides, when he woke up, he would be back to normal and could finally heal the large cut on the side of his head.

Lying across the seats in the fashion he was, was hardly comfortable. The seats were not that comfortable to sit on, let alone to use as a bed. Oh well. This was hardly the least uncomfortable place he had ever slept on. Hardly…

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and let it out. He went to the golden field and soon he had drifted off to sleep.

…

Wanda stood between Natasha and Vision, reading but not quite comprehending, the text scrolling on the computer screens a foot away from her face. It was one of those moments when she missed having a cellphone to pass the time. Cells with their GPS tracking chips had to be abandoned when going on the run from the government. It wasn't too bad all in all. She had her friends and Vis in those scarce moments of happiness and she had spent most of her life without a cellphone anyways, so…

She looked at Vision and ran her hand along his side that had been injured. He glanced up in surprise. "It is like it never happened," she said agreeing with what he had said in the meeting room.

"Indeed." He grasped her hand with his own. "Loki has quite the impressive abilities."

"I know. That's why I going to shadow him."

Vision's eyes squinted in confusion. "What?"

"Yes, what?" Natasha asked crossing her arms.

"I told Loki that I was going to be like his shadow. Whatever move he makes, whether good or bad, I'll know about it."

Vision nodded. "I see. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

Wanda thought for a moment. "I also kinda threatened him."

"That's my girl!" Natasha said playfully hitting Wanda on the arm. "I knew I had taught you how to stand up to jerks well."

"Nat," Steve said firmly.

"What? I think it's safe to say the whole "trust my rage" thing was very affective until you realized who said it. Someone had to tell him what's what and watch out for him and Wanda is probably the best one of us to do so."

"Although, to be fair, any one of us could've told the God off," Sam chuckled.

Wanda, Natasha, and Rhodey chuckled too. Vision and Steve didn't make a sound. Vision let out a small sigh. "I really do not think any of that is necessary."

"What?" Wanda asked her smile disappearing. "Vis, do you honestly take his word to be true?"

Vision nodded. "In this context, yes. I believe that he has no reason to lie."

Natasha scoffed, "He doesn't need a reason to lie, but it helps."

Vision glanced around at the group. "You truly all believe there is not a trustworthy bone in his body?"

"Well, yeah," Rhodey said, flipping a switch to increase altitude. "I do however believe he wants to kill Thanos and sometimes the enemy of your enemy _is_ your friend. Or in this case, ally."

"So, you trust his rage?" Natasha said almost mockingly.

"Maybe. Slightly."

"It will be your funeral," she mumbled.

Steve spoke up. "I thought we all already agreed that we would work with Loki."

"There's a difference between working with and trusting to not betray us, Steve." Natasha stepped up to Steve until they were only a few feet apart. "And you forced my hand."

"You were going to shoot the man, Nat."

"Yeah, I was. We all would've been better off for it."

"I have an idea," Sam interrupted, looking up from his computer. "Instead of getting into a second "civil war" over this, we just have Wanda read the God's mind and see if he's lying or if he's on the up and up."

Wanda thought it was a wonderful idea. That way they could decide once and for all if they could for sure, one hundred percent _not_ trust him. "I'll do it," she said.

"Wait a moment," Vision said, raising his hand to stop her. "You were one of the first to yield after he said he was willing to help."

Wanda nodded. "Yes. "Trust my rage" really got me, but then two minutes later he's acting all jokey and mischievous and any glimmer of trust I had flew out the window. Besides, he is dangerous and if his emotions are any reflection of his actions, he should've already betrayed us three times."

Vision stared into her eyes, almost pleading, but he soon realized he couldn't stop her forever. "As I am in the minority, go ahead."

Wanda nodded her thanks to him and glanced at the others. "I say do it," Natasha said. Wanda nodded again and walked from the little group closer to the sleeping trickster.

"Wanda," Steve said in a hushed voice. She turned. "Just be careful."

She smiled. "You worry too much. I'll be fine."

She didn't stop walking until she was standing next to Loki's sleeping form. He almost looked peaceful and harmless. She knelt down so she was at the same level with him. She lifted her hand and waved her fingers, her red power forming around her hand. Her eyes turned scarlet and with a flick of her hand, she dove into Loki's mind.

And boy, did she get more then she bargained for.

…

 _Loki was running after Thor in the beautiful golden field that was on the outskirts of the palace. A silver lake trickled alongside the field filled with shimmering fish. The trees were a rich green and the sky was a crystal clear blue. The sun was a high shining and warm beacon._

 _He was not a fan of warm weather, he preferred the crisp and cool seasons of autumn and winter, but this summer day was not all that bad._

" _Thor! Wait for me!" he cried, desperately trying to catch up._

" _Hurry up, Loki!" Thor shouted impatiently. "You're slower than a Frost Giant!"_

 _In Earth years, Thor was eleven and Loki was eight. In Asgardian years, well…they were a lot older. Thor ran through a patch of higher growing grass and a multitude of small white butterflies flew up in surprise. He laughed at the tiny creatures fear._

" _Come on, Loki! This is fun!"_

 _Loki caught up and joined Thor with running and scaring the butterflies. Soon the field was filled with swarms of them trying to fly away. It was like running through a snow blizzard. The two brothers laughed and fell to the soft ground and watched the butterflies for a half hour._

" _That was fun," Thor said standing up and grabbed a handful of smooth pebbles. He tossed them into the lake trying to get them to skip but was failing. Loki followed him and watched._

" _You're doing it wrong," he told him. "You have to throw the stone at an angle."_

" _I am." Thor threw the next one with too much strength and it went clear over to the other side of the bank._

" _You threw it too hard."_

" _I know, but that is a much better game anyways. Who can throw the pebble the farthest?"_

 _Loki ignored him and instead looked for a small flat stone. He found one that could fit into his palm. He stood with one foot in front of the other, twisted his arm back, threw the stone at an angle, and it skipped across the lake three times. He smiled cheekily at Thor. "Told you, you were doing it wrong."_

 _Thor frowned and said, "How will skipping rocks help you in the future, Loki? You cannot slay any monster just because you have good aim and angle."_

" _Yes you can! It is called throwing daggers."_

 _Thor laughed at him. "You plan to defend yourself with a small sword?" He let out a hearty laugh, his shaggy blonde hair falling into his face. Loki grew mad and started stomping away. " _Hey? Loki? Wait! Where are you going?"__

" _Back to the palace," he snapped. "There I will not be ridiculed about my choice in weaponry."_

 _It had been such a wonderful day. Too bad it ended with Loki leaving in a huff. Who knew that one day, years later he would remember only the good parts as his happy and calm place._

…

 _When Thor had been allowed to start training a few years earlier than usual, it was all Loki ever heard about. Their father was so proud that his first born son had such talent according to his trainers and he picked up the art of hand-to-hand combat within a matter of weeks. Loki was talented_ too _. He was ahead in his studies, he had read almost half the books in the school's library, he had taken several extra classes, most were history classes on the realms, but still._

 _But his father did not care that he was being praised by all of his teachers._

 _The whole family sat at the large redwood table covered with food and listened to Thor go on and on about his training. "And there were these other three boys in the class who I have become friends with! They are a little older than me, but we all share the love of the fight!"_

 _Father chuckled and smiled warmly. "It sounds as if you had a wonderful day."_

" _Yes, father, I did! I can't wait till tomorrow!"_

 _Loki sat in silence listening as Thor got all the attention. He swallowed and asked, "Father?"_

" _Hmm, yes, Loki?"_

" _Can I train with Thor as well?"_

 _His father flinched as if he had struck him. He shook his head sadly. "Oh, Loki, you are far too young to start training."_

" _But Thor is far too young to start training and you allowed him to start training!"_

" _It is different. Your brother possesses a strength to him, it would be cruel to hold him back."_

 _Loki crossed his thin arms. "I bet I would have strength if you didn't hold me back." Thor smothered a laugh. Loki's eyes turned to him with a glimmer of anger. "What is so funny?"_

" _Brother, be serious. You are more suited for reading and stuff."_

" _I can do both! And you are just jealous that I'm ahead in school and you're failing basic mathematics, which is the easiest class."_

 _Thor's eyes widened. Their mother spoke up. "Thor, you are failing a class?"_

" _I-uh, it's just stupid math! It's not important."_

" _All classes are important, Thor," mother said in a soft but stern tone. She glanced at their father. "Should Thor be doing all of this extra training when he could be using the time to perfect his studies?"_

 _Loki smirked, happy with himself. Thor on the other hand was steaming. "I told you that in confidence! I trusted you!" Loki causally shrugged. Thor grabbed a roll and threw it across the table at Loki, but Loki easily dodged it and caught it and threw it back at Thor. He hadn't expected that and it hit Thor square in the face. Loki laughed until his side hurt. Thor growled and grabbed two more rolls, but their father had enough of this._

" _Enough!" he barked. Thor put the rolls back on their platter and Loki became quiet. "Thor you will keep training, but if you fail anymore classes I will pull you from training myself." Thor nodded. "And Loki you will wait until you are older."_

" _But that's not fair!"_

" _Loki, enough."_

 _And just like that he was supposed to accept his father's will and be okay with the fact that he was being held back. He folded up his napkin and tossed it on his plate. He got up and left._

" _Loki? Where are you going?" his mother asked._

" _My room." At least there he could be alone._

…

 _Later that night, his mother came to his room and found him reading by the large golden glass window at the center of his room. She had two old and worn leather back books with her. "Enjoying your reading?" she asked._

 _He shrugged. He was still upset over this whole training thing. His mother sat down on the cream colored blankets on his bed. "When I was a child, my cousin, Fintin, was always showing off his artistic talents and it made me jealous when my parents made a big fuss over him." Loki set his book down and crossed his legs, listening. ""Look at your cousin's painting, Frigga. Isn't it lovely?" And it was. But because they were talking about Fintin so much I thought that I had to be exactly like him and be good at art to be accepted."_

" _But you hate art," Loki said._

 _His mother chuckled, "Indeed I do and I realized that I could not be an exact copy of my cousin, I had to be my own person. One day you will learn to train like Thor, but for now…" She stood up and handed him the two thick volumes. Loki glanced into his mother's warm glassy eyes and then to the books. He took them from her and read the titles:_ History of Spells and Incantations _and_ Guide into the Mystic Arts _._

 _His head popped up. "You are going to teach me how to do_ magic _?"_

 _His mother nodded. "I will help with the first essential steps of learning but I have a feeling that you will pick up on it fast." He jumped up from where he sat and hugged her. Her arms tightly wrapped around him. He loved that she always saw the potential in him. She never tried to hold him back._

" _I'll make you proud," he promised._

…

 _Mother had been right, he had picked up on the mystic arts right away. He practiced every day after his studies. He would run to his room and practice. After two months of practicing, he could make himself invisible, conjure up small objects, and transform himself to appear as other people. Or animals…_

 _The idea struck him the second he read the spell in the book and he had smirked mischievously at the thought. Now he was waiting for Thor behind a tree to test his new trick and to pull a marvelous prank. He held a long, thin, and incredibly sharp needle in his pale hands. He could barely contain his laughter, then he saw Thor walk outside with his three friends._

 _Loki waved his hands and concentrated on the form he wanted to take and then in a shimmer of green light he had done it. He was a smooth and slithering snake._

 _Thor walked over to the tree and said to his friends, "Let's go to the lake, it is such a warm day. We should go swimming!"_

 _One of Thor's newfound friends spotted Loki. It was a fat, frizzy red haired boy who was indeed a few years older than Thor. "Look out! A snake!"_

 _Thor smiled. "I love snakes!" He bent down and picked Loki up to admire him. Then Loki changed back to himself and Thor was no longer holding onto a snake but Loki's shoulder. Thor jumped back in surprised. "What the-!"_

" _Yeah, it's me!" He stabbed Thor in the side with the needle._

" _Ow! Hey! What did you-Loki!"_

 _Loki never ran so fast in his life._

…

 _The years began to pass and eventually he was finally old enough to start training, which was about thirteen in Earth years. He had good reflexes and hand eye coordination. His instructors were impressed at how fast he was at learning and how swift he was in combat. Thor might have been brawny and could fight off ten guys at once, but Loki could jump between them picking them off one by one. And of course, he picked up the dagger as his weapon of his choice._

 _It was easy to carry and very effective. And on top of all of this he had mastered most of the spells in his mother's books, so he could use both his magic and his dagger when fighting. He had learned a multiplying spell, so he could throw his dagger at a target and magically make it become ten daggers._

 _That was certainly more impressive than throwing men around like they were rag dolls. That's what Thor did. Like all the time._

 _But nobody, other than his instructors and his mother, continuously complemented him on how amazing he was at his own strengths like everyone did with Thor, the golden prince of Asgard. Father, the Warriors Three, a girl named Sif who was always following Thor like he was the sun, and all the citizens of the entire empire thought that Thor was the best thing since air._

 _Truth be told, Loki did think Thor as a person to look up to and to trust. He was his brother after all. But it just seemed like the scales of love and attention were unfairly made to be in Thor's favor._

 _He would take a deep breath if he found himself dwelling on this thought for too long and either stick his nose in a book or practice with his dagger or magic and put it out of his mind. One day, the people of Asgard and their father would see him and Thor as equals. Two princes, two brothers who were both born to rule and were both just as fit._

 _One day._

…

 _Loki had found a ritual that had caught his eye: it would allow the enactor to walk in the afterlife plane among the deceased. Fascinating. He had mastered most of the other spells and rituals and this one just seemed to call out to him._

 _He read over the steps several times and when he was sure that he knew what he was doing, he laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in an "X" across his chest. Then he focused. He slowly raised one hand in the air, it glowed green. Good, he was on the right track. Then he raised the other one, it glowed as well._

 _He muttered the spell, "With the power of life in the multiple dimensions, allow me to walk with the dead for a moment." He twisted his hands, the glow increased. Now all he had to do was slam his hands down at his sides and he would be boosted into the afterlife plane._

 _But his mother came in and grabbed him by the wrists and pulled him into a sitting position. "Loki Odinson, what in star's name are you doing?" she asked slash yelled at him._

 _He blinked up at her in surprise. After all the tricks and pranks he had pulled on Thor and after all the almost failed classes Thor had somehow managed to get through, he had never seen his mother so cross._

" _I was just doing the spell."_

" _I can see that. Why?"_

"… _I was bored?" It came out as a question, because he didn't know the right answer._

 _His mother shook her head in disbelief. "Boredom. You would risk your life because of boredom?"_

" _Risk my…mother, it is just a spell to walk with the dead-"_

" _I know what it is!" she shouted and Loki flinched back. His mother swallowed and tried again. "Loki, there are some people out there in the realms who have their own rituals to speak with their ancestors for brief periods of time. However, this spell allows unlimited time in the afterlife plane and the more a live soul spends there, the weaker it gets until it may be impossible for them to return to the plane of the living."_

 _Ohhh…_

 _He hadn't read that part. Oops. He had been too focused on learning the spell itself, he had forgotten to read about the consequences. "I'm sorry. I will never try to do that spell again."_

 _His mother smiled and relaxed. "I know, I am sorry for getting so upset."_

 _Loki smirked. "It's okay. Now I can bring it up as an excuse to get out of Elf history class. "I can't possibly study this, because my mother yelled at me!" Can you not just picture it?"_

 _His mother laughed. "I can, but don't you dare do it!"_

…

 _One glorious and winter day, when Loki was about fifteen in Earth years, he walked to school like it was any normal day enjoying the cool weather. He went to his classes and went about his studies like it was nothing new. However, it was when he was leaving that one of Thor's teachers stopped him._

" _Excuse me, Prince Loki?" the elderly woman asked._

" _Yes?"_

" _Is there something the matter with you brother, Prince Thor?"_

 _He gave her a strange look. "No. Why?"_

" _He did not come to my class this morning, so I asked his other teachers if they saw him. None of them had."_

 _Loki felt his stomach tighten up because he had a vague idea of where Thor was and it made him mad. But he politely smiled and lied through his teeth to the sweet old teacher, "Actually now I remember. You do not have to worry. My brother promised my mother to help with the maintaining of the royal horses and the pastures. He said he would catch up on his studies the next day because he could not stand the idea of mother and the servants doing all the work themselves."_

" _I did not realize the Queen took such an interest in horses." Loki hadn't made that part up, his mother truly loved them. "Then why are you here and not there helping your mother and brother?"_

 _Loki didn't even have to think up his next lie, it just rolled off of his tongue. "I was going to help, but my brother said that he knew how important my studies are to me and that he would not stop pestering me until I agreed to go to school."_

 _The teacher nodded. "Your brother, the Prince, is such a thoughtful person."_

 _Loki nodded as well and mustered up his best fake smile. "Yes, he is." He bided farewell with the elderly teacher and practically ran home. Thoughtful, his foot. If Loki was right, then Thor was asleep in his room with a hangover._

 _And it would not have been the first time either. Thor's Warriors Three friends were older then him and able to go to the local taverns. They managed to sneak Thor into these places, where they could drink in secret or the tavern keep wouldn't say anything about Thor's underage drinking of casks of ale and making a buffoon out of himself, because he was the Prince of Asgard._

 _As if that was a good reason._

 _He dropped his bag full of books off at his room and marched to Thor's cave of a bedroom. He knocked on the door and when he didn't get an answer he unlocked it with a flick of his hand. He stepped inside, the room was almost pitch black as the drapes were drawl shut. He could hear Thor's snoring, so he was right about where he had been this whole time._

" _Thor?" he whispered. Thor was asleep on the floor, by the foot of his bed, curled up in his yellow colored blankets. Loki tried again. "Thor?" Once again he didn't get an answer. "Oh, for star's sake, Thor!"_

" _Hmm?" Thor mumbled, still half asleep. "Brother…that you?"_

" _Yes, it's me."_

" _Wha'cha doin' in my room?" he slurred and then he started snoring again._

" _Oh no you don't!" Loki stepped up to the windows in the room and threw open the drapes, tons of light came spilling into the room._

 _Thor woke up and covered his head with the blanket. "Loki, what are you trying to do? Kill me?"_

" _If I were trying to kill you, brother, believe me you would know it." He walked back to Thor and grabbed his blanket and pulled at it. Thor held on tight and wouldn't let go. For two minutes it was like they were playing an absurd version of tug-of-war, until Loki grew tired of it and simply made the blanket disappear in a flash of green._

 _Thor groaned, "That was my favorite blanket."_

" _I'll give it back to you later. Right now, I going to yell at you."_

 _Thor half sat up and shook his head. "Loki, please don't-"_

" _What were you thinking?!" Thor grabbed his aching head. "You told me that you would never go out and get yourself incapacitated like this on a school night."_

" _Brother, this is really none of your concern."_

" _Like hell it isn't! I had to cover for you because I do not want all of the kingdom to know that my_ perfect _older brother is a drunk!"_

" _I am not a drunk!" Thor flinched at his own yelling. "There is nothing wrong with going with friends and having a good time. Just because you don't have any friends and have no idea what it is like to have fun, doesn't mean that you have the right to tell me what to do. You should know your place."_

 _Loki blinked, feeling the hurt from what Thor had said. Was that what Thor really thought or was it because he was not in a good mood and still had alcohol in his system? He sucked in a deep breath and pushed all of that away for right now. He glared at Thor with his wildly messed up hair. "If you ever do this again, I will tell mother and father. I told one of your teachers that you were helping mother with the horses and that you insisted that I go to class. Remember it will you? I do not need you to say some other story and have that teacher thinking I'm a liar." He spun on his feet and reached for the door._

" _Technically, you are a liar," Thor called out and Loki just ignored him and left, pretending that he wasn't deeply bothered by Thor's comments and lack of concern for how they made him feel._

…

 _How did he get into these situations? Like seriously?_

 _Thor had recently been gifted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir and to celebrate that, along with the fact that Lady Sif had graduated from school and her training at the top of her class, he came up with this "great" idea to go to Nornheim and battle against the radical group of Nornheimians, called "Summerland", that threatened, as Thor said, "Every single realm in the universe."_

 _Loki would not have given the sword swinging buffoons that much credit, but he wanted to go and join the adventure. He was about nineteen in Earth years at the time and he had only been a part of a handful of battles. He had enjoyed the thrill of the battle as much as anyone and he could hold his own, but he preferred to stay home, reading or practicing, not constantly trying to get himself killed. He was not addicted to the battle like Thor was._

 _But this was a journey he could not miss out on. He arrived at the Bifrost with Thor by horseback and told the golden eyed gate keeper, Heimdall, where they were going. "Beware, the radical Nornheimians do not exercise restraints on who they kill. Just because you are younger, they will not show mercy."_

" _They're just as savage as the Jotuns," Thor commented, twirling his big ridiculous hammer around. Thor's hair had grown past his ears and he was starting to grow a slight mustache and beard. He wore his traditional Asgardian armor with a red cape for flair._

 _Loki had always kept himself more cleaned up then that, with short slicked back hair and with not a single hair on his face. His favorite color was green so he managed to incorporate it into his high collared and knee long leather coat. Any and all armor that he had to wear was either gold or black. He felt that his outfit was far more practical than Thor's. He had always imagined Thor running into battle and then tripping over his cape._

 _That would have been the best thing ever._

 _The Warriors Three: Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg, all came as well, followed by the beautiful Lady Sif. Once it was time for them to go, they all stood at the entrance of the Bifrost and were sucked into the white rainbow light and landed on Nornheim, the bright and warm realm that never had cold seasons._

 _Loki hated it already._

 _Then the attack started. Summerland was a much more organized group then any of them had anticipated. They were surrounding them and winning, even against Thor's powerful new weapon. Thor ordered a retreat, it was a day for firsts, and the group ran until they had escaped every last Summerland follower. They were forced to take shelter in a semi-dark abandoned cave._

" _Well, this is a disaster," the blonde and dashing Fandral said as they all stood in the cave catching their breaths._

" _Maybe we should head back," Volstagg said. "We_ are _far enough for Hemidall to open up the bridge without bringing in a Summerland member. We could go home, regroup, eat a meal."_

 _Loki rolled his eyes. Of course, the fat Viking would want to go home and eat._

" _Is that all you think about?" Sif asked, shaking her head. "Food? At a time like this?"_

 _Volstagg sheepishly shrugged._

" _We are not running away like a bunch of cowards!" Thor bellowed. Loki would have loved to point out that they already had run away like a bunch of cowards, but he knew if he said it he would be ignored or Thor would tell him to "know his place". "We need a plan. We need a plan…" Thor seemed to get lost in his thought and started pacing around, fidgeting with his hammer._

 _Was he nervous? This really was a day of firsts._

 _Hogun, who was almost always quiet until he absolutely had to speak, said, "Three Summerland followers are coming."_

 _Everyone's heads popped up and they rushed to the entrance of the cave. Three tall and muscular men draped in their shiny silver armor with double edged swords were walking nearer. Everyone quick got back inside the cave, pressing themselves against the walls._

" _Do you think they saw us?" Sif whispered._

" _With our luck, probably," Fandral muttered._

" _I have a plan," Thor said, any hint of nervousness vanishing. "In order to do it, I'll need Loki's help." That surprised Loki. Thor never needed his help before with a battle plan. Maybe he had finally accepted his own strengths and saw usefulness in them. "So, this is my plan, Loki we're going to go out there and pretend you're hurt."_

" _Okay."_

" _And then when we're close enough, I'm going to throw you and you'll knock them all down."_

"…"

" _Brother?"_

" _What the-that is the most-you are joking, right?"_

" _Um, no."_

" _That is the best plan you can come up with? That is the worst plan I have ever heard of!"_

" _Shush!" Sif said, waving her hand at him to be quiet._

" _Do you have a better plan?" Thor asked._

 _Loki shook his head. "No."_

" _Then we're doing it."_

" _Oh, come on. Give me two minutes, I'm sure I could come up with something eons better than that."_

" _They are getting closer," Hogun said._

" _Brother, there is no time!"_

 _Loki inhaled and said a begrudging, "Fine."_

 _So, Loki walked out with his arm across Thor's shoulder for support, as he was supposed to pretend to be injured and Thor cried out to the three Summerland followers who saw them, "Get help! Please, my brother!" The three men reached for their swords, but Thor and Loki were close enough and Thor literally hurled Loki at them._

 _This was humiliating._

 _Loki crashed into the three un-expecting men and they all fell to the ground. Thor laughed heartily and helped Loki to his feet. "See? I told you it would work."_

 _Loki brushed himself off. "It wasn't that I doubted your plan, it was that I_ hated _your plan."_

 _Thor chuckled and walked closer to the knocked out Summerland followers. He shook his head in disgust. "They would have killed us all in an instant." Thor turned around to face Loki. "We must have a battle plan to defeat the remaining of Summerland. First, we should get the others and-"_

 _At that moment one of the three men who was supposed to be knocked out, sprung up to his feet and un-sheaved his sword. "Thor!" Loki yelled and on instinct he quickly pushed Thor out of the way, and threw a dagger at the Summerland follower's neck. His dagger reached its target but not before the man had finished swinging his sword, slicing it across Loki's stomach._

 _The Summerland follower dropped to the ground, the dagger protruding from his Adam's apple and Loki fell to his knees with a pained gasp. "Loki!" Thor ran to him and fell to his knees as well. Loki looked down at his wound, it was gushing with blood. Oh, this was bad, this was bad…stay calm, stay calm. He could save himself if he used his magic, but he never done a healing spell for such a life threatening injury before. He had to focus. Focus was key. Thor reached for him. "Loki, we'll get you help, we-we can-"_

" _Thor, please shut up," he whispered._

" _What?"_

" _Shut up!" Thor jumped back, but Loki didn't have time to explain himself right now. He closed his eyes and squeezed his hands into fists, the glow started out slow and light, but it soon grew until it was almost blinding to look at. The pain started to ease until there was no pain at all and the wound had completely healed up. He had done it, but he almost collapsed from exhaustion._

" _Loki?" Thor asked, concern in his voice as he grabbed him by the shoulders._

 _Loki smiled weakly, "I'm fine. Just…need some…rest." Thor examined where his wound used to be and seemed to understand what had happened. He helped him back to the cave and sat him down near the entrance._

 _This is how the rest of their day in Nornheim went: Thor and the Warriors Three left Sif with Loki to attack the Summerland followers at the east side, which was supposedly unprotected, Sif and Loki sat in awkward silence until they heard thunder and fighting nearby, the others were being pushed back to the cave battling almost a hundred members, Sif left Loki to join the fight, and after watching his brother and the rest of their group almost get killed a bunch of times, Loki found the strength to conjure up some smoke to ease the battle and finally turn it to their favor. The Summerland members were fighting blind, and everyone took advantage of that. It had taken a while but they had won over the radicals._

 _When they returned, all of them were honored for their help, but Thor was the one who got all the fame for being the "brave and marvelous" leader that he was. And Thor, being the oaf that he was, told the tale of how he had single handedly pulled the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and Loki out from under the brinks of death and had vanquished the Summerland._

 _It was funny really. If it hadn't been for Loki, the idiot probably would have been killed. But did he ever tell that part of the story? Nope._

…

 _After all these years, it was finally time for Thor to ascend to the throne as King of Asgard. And Loki could honestly say that he was happy for him. Sort of. Okay, maybe he was a little envious of all the attention Thor was getting yet again and alright, maybe he did let three Frost Giants into Asgard to ruin his big day, but…deep down he was happy for him. The two brothers had met up before the big coronation. "Nervous, brother?" he asked Thor, who laughed at the question._

" _Have you ever known me to be nervous?"_

" _Well, there was the time in Nornheim."_

" _That was not nerves, brother. That was the rage of battle."_

 _Loki smirked and shook his head, remembering that day. "Ah, I see."_

" _How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?"_

 _Thor was still remembering that day differently than he was. "As I recall, I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape."_

 _Thor laughed, "Yes. Some do battle, others just do tricks."_

 _Like there was a difference. Loki had almost regretted his mischievous and, let's face it, treasonous action of cloaking the three Frost Giant who were at this moment almost in the Vault filled with relics, but now… He felt justified. All these years later and Thor still treated him as less than his equal, still made jests about his ability to do battle with a "small sword" and some "tricks". He kept his mouth shut and smiled for his brother. Let Thor have this moment, he thought to himself, because soon he would be furious that his day was ruined._

 _Loki had no idea that soon he would feel that his own_ life _was ruined._

…

 _It all made sense._

 _Perfect, crystal clear sense why his so called "father" never gave him any of the praise that Thor got, always favored Thor over him, even when Thor acted like an idiot. Damn it, it all made sense. Loki was a Frost Giant. He was a monster, and his father-no,_ Odin _may have kept the truth from him all these years, but he had shown his true feeling about him through his lack of equal love and acceptance._

 _And through his damn indifference to how Loki learned about Frost Giants. He learned that they were savage, cruel, bastards and almost everyone, Thor included, made jokes or slurs about them. Did Odin not care? Did he not think that one day Loki would figure it out and realize that his suspicions of being an outcast were true and that his already fragile self-esteem would shatter completely?_

 _His mother (was he supposed to call her Frigga now?) had told him that Odin had wished to keep the truth about what he was from him, so he would never feel different. That was downright laughable. He had always felt different. Odin and Thor had made him feel different, didn't they know that? Why didn't they see that they had been hurting him all these years?_

 _It did not matter anymore. He would never be able to prove his worth to anyone, let alone to the only people who ever mattered. This could not get any worse._

…

 _It had gotten worse._

 _His mother had given the throne over to him and at first the very idea was terrifying. But then he realized that his mother still had faith in him, still was so sure that he could be accepted by being his own person. And then the scheme formed in his mind. Make a deal with the Frost Giants, but double cross them so that it appeared that he had saved Odin when they attempted to kill him. Then he would be completely justified in destroying Jotunheim. If there were no more Frost Giants then he couldn't be a Frost Giant. Right? And the people of Asgard, his mother, his father they would all see his worth and they would love him._

 _They would love him._

 _Then Thor made things difficult and then he did the impossible, he destroyed the Bifrost._

 _Why couldn't Thor have just let him do it? He always got away with everything! He always was praised as the golden Prince of Asgard, who was so smart, so battle savvy! Loki always kept his mouth shut. Always tried to do what he was supposed to. Yeah, he pulled off some pranks, some tricks and do you know what happened? "Loki, why can't you be more like your brother? You never see him running around turning into snakes."_

 _And as Loki held onto the royal staff, as the broken Bifrost fell through a newly formed wormhole, looking up at Thor and Odin he tried one last attempt._

" _I could have done it, father!" he shouted. "I could have done it! For you! For all of us!" He looked at Odin, hope filling his chest. He had to see it now, right? How much he longed for the attention that Thor got, for the acceptance, how he had so much locked away hurt that was eating away at his heart. Odin saw that, right?_

" _No, Loki."_

 _Those two words broke him. More than any other words had. He had spent so many years fighting against the tears, but today he let them flow down his cheeks and he decided he was done. Done with the hurt and pain. He had reached his limit. He let go of the staff._

…

 _The last thing he remembered was falling. He had been falling for a long time, through space and all of its vast colors and stars. He had to die at some point. He just had to. Or maybe he would just spend eternity in the stomach clenching action of falling. He had closed his eyes, trying to find some sort of peace, but he just felt deeply saddened._

 _Then suddenly he woke up._

 _Loki was confused as to where he was and how he was still alive. He was no longer falling, quite the opposite actually. He was laying on his back on a hard, cold dark gray stone floor. He tried sitting up and found that his body ached. Of course, after falling for so long, being in a place with gravity would be a shock to the system. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room that was made out of the same stone as the floor._

 _The shadows clung to the walls in this place and when he let a deep breath out, he could see his breath. Cold weather never had bothered him (and now he knew why), but it was odd to him to be in such a cold place. Where was he? And what had happened to his armor? All he had on was his black trousers and the soft light green shirt that he had worn underneath all of his layers of armor._

 _He was in the motion of trying to sit up better when an unseen door opened up, harsh and dull light came in as well as a tall woman with thin white lips and what looked like ram's horns protruding from the sides of her head. "Well, well, look who's alive. Father will be so pleased." Before he could even think, she had pulled out a spear, twisted it around until three blades popped out of the top, and pointed it at him. "On your feet!" she hollered._

 _Now Loki really did not know what was happening._

…

 _The woman walked behind him with the blade pointed at the back of his head as he was led through a large and dismal space craft until they were at the center of the ship. The center was open but still dark and shadowed. You could see that all of the corridors and hallways led to this spot where there was a huge stone craved chair that looked like a throne. The woman pulled him by the shoulder and stopped him several feet away from the throne._

 _A man draped all in a thick cloak stepped out of the darkness of the ship. The figure said in a croaking voice, "Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, I am the Other and the woman behind you is Proxima Midnight. You are about to be in the presence of one of the universe's greatest and most powerful beings. Make sure you show respect." The "or else" was very heavily implied. Loki heard loud footsteps approach from behind him, but he did not move, because he wasn't sure he was supposed to or not._

 _A deep, thunderous, and commanding voice said, "So, the Asgardian awakes at last." The footsteps continued until they were past Loki and he glanced up at the giant towering man who they belonged to. The man was of the Titan race with the trademark lined chin and light purple pink skin tone. Odin had said that all of the Titans had died due to overpopulation on their planet, but why he still believed anything that his so called father had told him was beyond him. _The Titan walked to the throne and sat down. He looked like a king or a god. He stared down at Loki. "No thanks are necessary for saving your life." An irrational fear was building up inside of Loki because besides being brought to this room by spear point, this man was giving him a bad feeling. "My name is Thanos. I am of Titan and I am burdened with a glorious purpose that I hope that you will help me with."__

 _Loki swallowed down his fear the best he could. "A p-purpose?"_

 _Thanos chuckled, "Yes. My purpose is to save the universe."_

" _From what?"_

" _From extinction. There are entire worlds with too many people stretching out an already strained amount of resources. How long till they starve themselves to death or go to war over land? I mean to save half of all walks of life by obliterating the other half." Loki blinked up at the Titan, completely and incredibly confused and he realized his fear was justified. What was he doing here? As if Thanos had read his mind he said, "You are here because I saw what happened to you. You were cast out of your own realm, your own kingdom. Do you want a chance to prove yourself as a king? I know how you can and what you can do to help me with my endeavor."_

 _Loki shook his head. That's why he was here? To help some crazed man and prove himself a king? "I tried to prove myself to be a worthy king. Just as a worthy_ son _. But it does not matter anymore, I failed. I don't care about proving myself anymore, it is too painful. I just-"_

" _Enough." Thanos did not have to yell to make Loki stop speaking; his voice had such a way of commanding you to do what he wanted. "You think you know what pain is? You have no idea." Loki wrapped his arms around himself. Thanos sighed, "I had so hoped we could do this the easy way, however…"_

 _Proxima Midnight, who was still behind Loki, sliced her three bladed spear across the back of his left leg. He cried out and fell to his knees. He barely had time to process the pain in his leg when the cloaked figure swung a long metal pole and caught him under his chin. He went flying backwards and crashed to the ragged stone floor. He just laid there in a daze, tasting the metallic blood in his mouth. Thanos stood up and took the spear from Midnight. "How disappointing," he murmured and then he thrust the spear deep into Loki's shoulder._

 _He screamed._

…

 _Thanos had thrown Loki back into, as he realized it to be, his cell, himself. Loki let out another cry of pain when he landed on his bloody and wounded shoulder. He was gasping for air and he no longer cared that tears were starting to come. "Why didn't you just let me die?" he whimpered as he managed to get off of his shoulder and flop onto his back._

 _Thanos stood perfectly still and in a tone that held an underlining malice, said, "Because you have potential to be a worthy ally."_

 _Loki reached for his right shoulder and felt the warm liquid coming from the three small, but effective blade wounds. "You don't need me. You could align yourself with anyone."_

" _True. Very true. But you are here, aren't you?" Loki kept quiet and he couldn't help but start to shake. "Rest up. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe you'll be more willing to listen then." The Titan shut his cell door with a metal clang._

 _Loki stayed where he was for several minutes, slowly healing his shoulder, then his leg, and finally where he had bit his mouth. He then moved away from the door, far away from the door, and curled his legs up to his chest. He felt like a child who had been naughty and sent to his room to await punishment. But he hadn't done anything. He had just been mildly tortured for absolutely no reason. Well, not for no reason. He had refused to listen to Thanos's scheme to have him prove himself and help him with a crazy purpose that didn't make any sense. It was a reason, but not a very good one._

…

 _The next day was worse. A flat faced man came for him this time and when he saw Loki without his injuries he shouted, "What sorcery is this?!" The ugly pale man lifted his hand up and Loki flew backwards into the cell wall, his back getting scratched up from the jagged stone walls. The man walked further into the room. "I had no idea that you had powers. This shall be interesting," he said with a small unnerving smile. Loki swallowed nervously as he tried to sit back up. "I will be back in one moment." _And he was. And he wasn't alone. He had brought a man with pointed ears and a sword. "This is_ _Corvus Glaive," the flat faced man said. "He and I are part of Thanos's great Black Order. Our mission is to save the world by-"__

" _Yeah, I heard all about it yesterday," Loki interrupted._

 _The flat faced man grew angry. "Apparently you did not listen well enough, otherwise you would not be in this cell. And do not ever interrupt me again."_

" _Apologies," Loki muttered._

 _The flat faced man stepped up to Loki until he was about a foot away. "You do not have to apologize until we are done with you." He swung his arm in the air and as if Loki had been struck he fell backwards again. Then the Corvus Glaive fellow who had been quiet this whole time threw down his sword and started pummeling him with his fists. _He wasn't sure how long this lasted, it was hard to keep track of time when all you can think about is pain and blood, but eventually the flat faced man stopped Glaive. "Thank you for your assistance, Corvus. It was much appreciated." And then as if nothing happened, Glaive left. The flat faced man kneeled down next to Loki and whispered, "You would do well to keep your injuries, if not…well, I think you understand what will happen. I will tell Thanos to wait till tomorrow to speak to you again." Then the man stood up and left.__

 _Loki didn't know the flat faced man's name but he already knew that he hated him. He hated everyone on this enormous ship. Everyone. Even the ones that he hadn't met before, because no doubt they were like the few he had already met: cruel and wanted to see him bleed. He had to stop himself from starting to heal the bruises and the few broken bones, it was an old habit. It was a habit that he was being forced to break._

 _He truly didn't understand why any of this was happening. Maybe he had died and this was Hell. But there was a sick feeling in his stomach that told him that he was alive and that this place was worse than Hell._

…

 _How long had he been on this damned ship? Three days, several weeks, months, years, centuries? Time became lost in this place and every second felt like a lifetime spent in agony. The only thing that made him sure that there were separate days at all was every once in a while some member of the Black Order, or as he soon learned, one of Thanos's children would come for him and bring him to Thanos. There he would be asked if he was ready to listen to Thanos's plan and every time Loki tried to explain that he was no longer interested in proving his worthiness. Once he tried to tell Thanos that he was no longer interested in life at all. Thanos just laughed at him. "Then you are in the wrong place because I can assure you that you will never die here. You will wish for something as sweet as death but it will never come." Then whoever had brought him would either torture him there in front of Thanos or drag him back to his cell and do it there._

 _Laying far away from the cell door with his feet pointed at the door, because one time he had slept with his head facing the door and Midnight had kicked him in the head to wake him up, he stared at the dark stone ceiling and thought about nothing but the pain and what had got him to this place. When he thought about that he would have a stupid rush of hope that maybe, just maybe, Thor or Odin or someone from home would come and rescue him. He could go home and embrace his mother. But there was no point in hoping because hope did not survive long in this place. Hope was comforting and everything comforting was taken away from him._

 _Or that's what he had thought._

…

 _He was laying on his side, his arms wrapped around his midsection trying desperately not to scream. It had been Ebony Maw's, the name of the flat faced man, turn to take Loki to Thanos and when Loki refused once again to listen he had broken three of Loki's ribs. It was scary how easy it was for Maw to do. He just clenched his fist and Loki fell to the ground crying. Now he was just waiting to black out. Sweet, sweet unconsciousness. Oh, how he longed for it. But then the all too familiar sound of his metal cell door opening and then closing, woke him from any type of sleep._

 _His mind was starting to race and to panic. Why was someone else here? It couldn't have been a day already, right? Unless the rules had changed and he was now to visit Thanos more frequently. Why couldn't they at least wait until he could stand without tearing up? He felt a cold hand on his shoulder and a female voice said, "Ebony loves a little death, but when he can't have any, torture is the next best thing." He instantly forgot about what he had been thinking about because he was so entranced by the strong and yet soft and strangely metallic voice that was now echoing in the cell. "I had hoped to come here when you were in a better condition but…I guess it doesn't matter anymore."_

 _Loki was confused, but then again he had been for a while. "Y-you're not…not h-here to take me to…to Thanos?"_

" _No. He doesn't even know I'm here." That peaked his interest. He wanted to turn around, to sit up to see whoever this girl was, but the moment he tried he screamed. "Here," the girl said and helped him to get on his back and then leaning up against the stone wall. This certainly was a change. All the people who came for him never helped him. Maybe they dragged him around like he was an old rag doll, but they were not like this girl who went out of her way to support his weight and try to make it less painful._

 _Loki glanced at the girl. Her skin was blue and she was bald with large black eyes but the thing that stood out was her metal arm and the computer like machine grafted to the side of her head. She certainly was unlike anything he had ever seen before. She eyed him in the same way that he was eyeing her. "Why are…are you here t-then?" When had he become so horrible at speaking and when did his voice become so hoarse?_

 _The blue girl sighed, "I have lived on his ship with Thanos as my father for most of my life, with those dreadful people that you have met as my siblings. As you can imagine, none of us have a good functional relationship. I have come here because I just need someone to talk to."_

 _Loki wasn't really sure what to do with that. He was in terrible pain, so bad to the point that tears were slipping down his cheeks at this very moment and then this new person came and said this to him. She wanted to talk? He didn't understand and he supposed it didn't matter. All that mattered was one thing. "H-how do I…do I know I can t-trust you?"_

 _The girl shook her head. "You can't. There is nothing I can say that will make you believe me and honestly, you shouldn't trust me. I won't help you escape or put in a good word with father. I won't even kill you if you begged me to. I just need people to talk to and the prisoners are always the best people."_

 _Prisoners are always the best people. Of course. She had done this before. "So we're not… friends or…or allies?"_

" _Correct."_

" _And I can't trust you?"_

" _Yes." She was honest, or at least she seemed to be honest. This could be a trick or maybe he wasn't the only sane person on the ship who thought that this was madness. If she was telling the truth, it made sense why she would need to talk to someone and why she would not trust the Black Order members. And if it was a trick, what more could he possibly have to lose?_

" _So…what do you wish…to t-talk about?"_

" _What's your name?" she asked as she sat down on the floor with her legs crossed._

" _Loki. And yours?"_

" _Nebula."_

" _Can I…can I ask you s-something, Nebula?"_

" _Within reason, yes."_

" _H-how long have I been…on the ship?"_

" _Two and a half months."_

 _Loki gasped and wearily shook his head. "Stars above." It had been that long and at the same time not that long at all. "Why?" he whispered._

 _Nebula glanced down at the ground and then back up at him. "Father is after powerful objects that will help speed along his plan to "save the universe". He has one already and he thinks that you can help him get another one. He figured that he would offer to help you gain a new kingdom or whatever in return for your help, but you seem dead set on moping around." She didn't mince words, she got right to the point and he found that to be refreshing. He also finally was learning why he truly was here._

" _Y-you don't talk like…like the others do about T-thanos."_

 _She softly scoffed, "Look at me." She raised her artificial hand up, it reflected the little light that was in the cell. "He did this to me. What reason do I have to care about his plan?" There was a bitter bite to how she asked that rhetorical question. There was relatable pain in it._

 _Loki nodded. "I understand."_

" _No you don't. But you understand better than my siblings."_

 _He wasn't sure what else to say at this point. This wasn't like the small talk he had had with his teachers in school or the guards in the palace. He couldn't ask something as transparent as, "How is your day today?" And she seemed willing to talk about the people on the ship, so maybe he should take advantage of that. "Tell me about…about your siblings."_

 _Nebula exhaled almost annoyed and said, "Well, let's see, there is Ebony, Proxima, Corvus, and the Other who you have already met. What more do I have to say about them? Then there is Cull Obsidian. He's a piece of work. Always going around trashing things. Then there is Thane who is actually Thanos's blood child, but father doesn't care about anyone as much as he does his favorite daughter Gamora." Loki had thought that she had been annoyed before, but when she uttered the name of her sister, or as he assumed step-sister, she became down right angry. "Gamora is the best fighter according to him, better than any of us."_

" _Jealous?"_

" _I am not jealous!" she shouted and he instantly regretted saying it. She closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths until she had calmed down from her outburst. "I could go on and on about my own problems, but that's not why I'm here."_

" _You wish to talk a-about someone else's…problems," he said now understanding why she would risk visiting him and apparently other prisoners. She needed someone to talk about their lives so she could forget about her's. Unfortunately, that is what Loki planned on doing. Oh well. Even reliving the hurtful past with someone was better than sitting in this dark cell all alone._

…

 _Life was still miserable but it became somewhat bearable after he had met Nebula. About every two or three days she would sneak into his cell and they would talk for an hour or so, always picking up where they had left off as if they hadn't been apart for a couple of days. One day after a particular vicious beating by Glaive, she came in and said, "So, you and your brother and your band of friends all were going to Nornheim." It was like they had taken a pause from the insanity of the events that went on in the horrible ship to be actual people._

" _Yes. We were going to Nornheim to fight…fight the Summerland."_

" _Right, sure, I remember now. You all got ambushed and then you all ran to the cave. That's where you left off."_

" _Well, Thor came up with the…"brilliant" plan that we l-later dubbed, "Get help"."_

 _Nebula almost smirked. "Why do I get the feeling that this was a terrible plan?"_

 _Loki chuckled but then had to stop because it hurt too much. "You catch on fast." He told her how that day in Nornheim ended and she almost chuckled when he told her how Thor threw him at the Summerland members._

 _It was odd. He had told her so much of his life in so short a period of time. It was amazing really. Besides his "family" he had never been that open with anyone. Hell, he was probably more open with Nebula then with his entire family. He wasn't sure if that was because he was vulnerable and willing to open up to anyone or if the two of them had a real connection. Probably the first, she had made it crystal clear the first day they met that they were not friends._

" _There was one time when Gamora and I were tasked with going to Knowhere to find a man who knew about the powerful objects that father wants. We needed to blend in and sneak in to talk to him because he doesn't just see people without requesting it. So my "brilliant" sister said that we needed to disguise ourselves like we were fancy Xandar commanders. Have you ever seen what those people wear? I felt ridiculous!"_

" _Then you…you probably would despise Asgardian fashion."_

 _She nodded. "I saw your armor. What are you people, Vikings?"_

 _He chuckled and grimaced at the same time. "You have no idea. Although, I guess I'm technically not an Asgardian."_

" _What do you mean? Father said that's where you came from and that's what you have been telling me."_

 _Loki decided to stop going in order and skip right to the bombshell that would eventually lead him to his current predicament. "I am adopted. Odin and Frigga of Asgard are not my birth parents." Nebula was quiet, she probably didn't know what to say. If there was anything he had learned from their short time talking with each other, it was that she was not good with dealing with emotions. Whether they were her own or someone else's, she just seemed to freeze up. He continued on, "My birth father was the King of Jotunheim."_

 _Nebula looked up with a glimmer of surprise in her big black eyes. "Jotunheim," she repeated. "Isn't that the realm with the giant red-eyed creatures who live in the extreme cold?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Huh. You don't look anything like those giants."_

 _He shrugged, "Magic."_

" _So those green eyes of yours aren't real, they're just because of some sort of magic?"_

 _He hadn't thought about it like that. Everything that he thought he knew about himself was really and truly a fiction. "I suppose so."_

" _Well…now it makes sense why you never complain about the cold." And that was it. She just accepted him for what he was and moved on. If they had been friends he would have been choked up by her easy acceptance. Maybe he was even though they weren't friends._

" _Y-you don't care that I come from a race of…monsters?"_

" _Loki, look at me." He did. "You hardly seem like a monster." That was kindest thing said to him ever since he woke up in his cell for the first time. "At least you have your powers or whatever to appear normal."_

" _I…" What was he supposed to say to that? She didn't like talking about her mechanical parts or how she got them. All he knew was that she had them because of Thanos. "I'm sorry," he said, deciding on what to say._

 _Nebula curled both her hands into fists. "Don't feel sorry for me."_

" _I don't, I just-"_

 _Nebula stood up and started pacing the room. "I know what you are thinking. "The poor cyborg girl, let me feel sorry for her because her life is so difficult." I can get on all by myself, thank you very much!"_

" _I'm sure."_

" _You're damn right. I don't need you to apologize or care. I don't need that!"_

" _Of course."_

" _I only come here to pass the time, nothing more!"_

" _Nebula?"_

" _What?" she snapped turning back to him._

" _You really need to get better at lying."_

 _Nebula blinked several times, perhaps blinking away tears. "You're right. I suck at lying." She sat back down where she had been sitting a few feet away from him. "Sometimes…" she swallowed and tried again, "I come to talk to the prisoners because they are all I can afford and I am all they can afford." Loki nodded, understanding. "But sometimes, I get so lost in their stories of what their lives were before here that when I am reminded that we all are on this damned ship, I lash out."_

 _Loki nodded again. It made sense to him. "Talking is how…how you cope, but when you stop the talking you don't know what to do."_

" _You have a knack for rehashing the obvious."_

" _Thank you," he said sarcastically. "When I don't know what to do or how to cope I think back to a calm memory when my brother and I were children."_

" _I don't have any calm memories," she whispered, her voice sounding softer than he had ever heard it before._

" _Then you can use mine." He slowly twisted his hand until a faint green glow materialized around it. It had been a long time since he had used his magic, so it was slightly difficult, but it was like getting back on the horse after months of not riding. You never truly forget how to do it. He projected his memory of the golden field by the silver lake as an illusion that engulfed the entire cell._

 _He and Nebula were no longer in the cold and shadowy cell, but in the golden field with the bright blue sky overhead, surrounded by emerald green leafed trees. She stood up right away in surprise. She looked around her in a sort of amazement. "Whoa."_

" _Neat, isn't it?" he said with a weak smile. He found himself staring at Nebula who was watching the memory unfold with great interest. He had never seen her in daylight or even artificial light. She was tall and lean and despite the lack of hair and the artificial machine parts that were used as her body parts, she was quite pretty. It was something he had never noticed before. Interesting. When the white little butterflies flew up in surprise, Nebula reached out and tried to touch them, but her hand went right through them and they disappeared with a flash of green. "Illusions are not solid," he explained._

" _But still, it's amazing," she said deeply impressed._

" _Thank you."_

" _Sure."_

 _He smiled again. If the rest of his life was to be spent on this ship being put through a daily torment, then he was just happy he had these few moments to spend with someone else._

…

 _It had started as a normal day: Obsidian had been the one to take him to Thanos, he said that he didn't care about Thanos's plan, Obsidian started to punch him repeatedly in the stomach. But soon things became very different very fast. "Enough!" Thanos shouted. Obsidian let Loki drop to the ground. Thanos glared at him. "You are wasting my damn time!"_

 _It was the first time Thanos had ever gotten so visibly and vocally upset, and it scared Loki to his very core. Thanos stood from his throne, his fist curled up. Loki flinched and the Titan hadn't even hit him yet. Thanos stomped over to him and picked him up by the shoulder. He shook him when he said, "Do you think you are doing yourself any favors by prolonging this? You think that dear old dad and your brother will come and save you? They have forgotten all about you!"_

" _What? No-"_

" _Yes! They never cared about you. Not them, not any of your precious Asgardians."_

 _Loki shook his head desperately. "You're wrong! In their own way, they did!" He had to believe that. In their own, not equally distributed way, they had._

 _Thanos stood perfectly still, staring into Loki's eyes, perhaps into his soul. "Let me show you what you truly meant to those soulless Asgardians." In Thanos's fist was a yellow shining stone. He pressed it along with his palm against Loki's right temple. Loki gasped and his eyes widened as the memories flooded his mind:_

" _Loki enough."_

" _You plan to defend yourself with a small sword?"_

" _You are a liar."_

" _Know your place, brother."_

" _Some do battle, others just do tricks."_

" _I was trying to protect you from the truth."_

" _No, Loki."_

 _It was too much, the blinding pain from all of the continuous flashing memories. Thanos was right. About Odin, about Thor, the Asgardians, everything. He meant nothing to them. Less than nothing. They wouldn't have put him through years and centuries of torment if he had meant something to them. And he hated them. Stars, how he hated them. Suddenly the pain was gone and he was falling to the ground. He landed with a soft thud. "What did you say?" Thanos asked sounding more like his calm self._

 _Loki was shaking, tears were streaming down his face, and his throat was sore and strained. Had he been screaming? He did not know, the blinding pain had practically consumed him. "What?" he whispered._

" _What did you say?" Thanos repeated._

 _Had he said something? He didn't recall saying anything, unless he had said what he had been thinking. Maybe in the heat of the pain he had screamed out what was going through his mind. That made some sort of sense. So he repeated his last thought. "I hate them," he whispered shakily. "All of them…Thor…Odin…the Asgardians. I_ hate _them." Saying it out loud made him realize how true it was. He sat up and curled his legs to his chest. "All I ever wanted was…was to be Thor's equal, but that…that was too much for them."_

 _Thanos stepped closer and patted Loki on the shoulder almost sympathetically. "I understand. The people of Titan casted me out because I saw what they refused to see."_

" _Y-your glorious purpose?"_

" _Exactly. Do you wish to listen to me talk about it and your purpose in all this?"_

 _His purpose? Some crazy idea to prove himself a king. He was born to be a king, wasn't he? But those damn Asgardians prevented him from fulfilling his birthright. "Maybe." Thanos patted him again in some sort of approval._

" _Better. Much better."_

…

 _He had been allowed to heal his broken bones and most of his cuts after listening to Thanos talk for hours on end about his purpose. He also was allowed to trade his shredded clothes for his traditional green and black outfit. He walked around his cell for the first time in weeks, thinking over everything Thanos had said:_

" _There are six powerful stones in the cosmos called Infinity Stones. This stone," he motioned to the yellow stone in his palm, "is one of them. It is called the Mind Stone."_

" _It's beautiful."_

" _It is. Now, there is another stone on Earth. It is the Space Stone, but it is also known as the Tesseract. You being an Asgardian, I assume that you already know what it is." Loki nodded. "Good. I wish to have the Tesseract and to have you get it for me. In exchange for vowing to help me, I will give you what you desire. A place to prove that you are a king."_

 _Loki knew that these stones were weapons and with them Thanos could accomplish his dream of saving the universe by destroying the other half. That in itself was crazy. But now he felt like he wanted to hear more about this chance to prove himself as a king. Maybe, just maybe…no, it was ridiculous. He couldn't possibly become the King of, he assumed, Earth. It was madness. Wasn't it? Nebula came into the cell in a huff and shouted, "Those idiots!"_

 _This wasn't uncommon. "Bad day, was it?" Nebula started when she saw him standing and in clothes not torn._

" _You're standing."_

" _Yes."_

" _How?"_

" _I listened to your father for a while and he allowed me to heal myself of most of my injuries."_

" _You listened to…did he use the stone on you?"_

" _Well, yes."_

 _Nebula clenched her fists. "Listen to me, that stone is-is dangerous. It can get into people's heads and twist them around until they don't know who they are anymore."_

" _All he did was show me what I already knew."_

" _Which was?"_

" _My hatred for my so called father and brother and the rest of Asgard."_

 _Nebula shook her head. "Don't you see? It's happening already! He's going to brainwash you!"_

" _Nebula-"_

" _You don't know him like I do! He takes things and people and corrupts them." She paced around the cell getting more and more worked up. "You've been here for months. I thought you were different. I thought you weren't going to give into his manipulation."_

 _Loki suddenly grew upset. "What did you think I was going to do? Spend the rest of my life here, being tortured every day?"_

" _No, but I thought you were stronger than this."_

 _He chuckled humorlessly. "What do you want from me then?"_

" _I don't know!"_

" _Do not shout at me."_

" _I'm not shouting!" she yelled and in a fit of anger she punched the stone wall with her metal hand, a bit of the wall broke up and two of her metal fingers were crushed from the force of her punch. Loki raised his eyebrows up at her. She rubbed her broken fingers with her other hand and muttered, "Okay, maybe I was shouting."_

 _He took a deep breath, "Okay. Nebula take a breath and give me your hand."_

" _Why?" she asked almost sounding on the defense._

" _So I can bloody heal it."_

" _Have you ever healed a machine based person before?"_

" _No, but how different can it be from a person of flesh and blood?" She reluctantly gave her hand over to his opened hand and he flicked his hand. The green glow shined from both of their hands. He felt very tired after healing her hand, after all of the healing he had done to himself and the transformation of his clothes, this was what tired him out. Nebula opened and closed her hand, examining her newly healed fingers._

" _Good as new," she commented._

" _Yes."_

" _I…Don't lose yourself to him."_

 _He sighed, "I won't."_

 _Nebula opened her mouth, unsure of herself and yet she appeared as if she knew exactly what she wanted to say, but she closed her mouth. "I should leave."_

" _Alright. See you in a few days?"_

" _Of course." Then she slipped out of the cell, leaving Loki to think over everything that she had said._

…

 _Thanos ordered him to see him the next morning. "Good to see you," Thanos said as if they were old friends. Loki could have laughed at that thought. "I wish to show you something that I think might interest you. I told you about the Tesseract, but you have never seen its true power or the worlds it can unlock."_

" _Well, no." Loki walked slowly and cautiously behind Thanos as he walked to his throne and picked up his Mind Stone. He froze._

 _Thanos chuckled. "Do not be alarmed. I will not use it the way I did before." Loki didn't want to go any closer, but he knew that the Other and perhaps some other members of the Black Order were lurking nearby. He stepped forward. Thanos opened his hand and the stone seemed to flair up. Suddenly Loki saw things that left him in awe. He was seeing worlds and dimensions that he had never seen before. They were vast in colors and creatures and life forms. So many things, new information and ancient knowledge that he could spend the next thousand years learning about. And the Tesseract, with its shimmering blue glow. People had thought that it was an energy source, but it was much more than that. It was a devise to travel to the different worlds. It could create portals through space and led to the realms of the entire multiverse._

" _It's amazing," he whispered, his eyes still seeing everything. "There's so much…"_

" _Yes, exactly. So much and yet so little. Too many people to fight over the dwindling resources. That is why I need the Tesseract. To fulfill my purpose and yours."_

 _Suddenly he was no longer seeing the different worlds but seeing other information that Thanos wanted him to see. Things that he had never thought about but seemed to make sense. Earth and the humans with their fleeting lives, who slaughtered themselves in droves. They had their freedom and what good did it do them? It made them worse off. Of course, they needed someone to rule them and make things better. He could do that. He could be their king. The King of Midgard, his glorious purpose._

…

 _Loki had shadowed Erik Selvig, the human scientist who had become friends with Thor when he had been banished to Earth. He was working on the Tesseract for a human organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. who thought that they could control the cube. They were so funny that way. Trying to tap into a power they had no hope of controlling. They truly were meant to be ruled._

 _The scheme was made and the steps to the plan laid out. He learned about the so called extraordinary humans, Tony Stark, Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers, and a few others. They were such lost creatures that would have no chance against him and the army he was given. He learned that the Mind Stone was being forged into a weapon for him to use on Earth, a scepter. A king did deserve a scepter. It would not be long till he would use the Tesseract and the scepter to reach Earth and start putting the steps to his plan in motion._

 _Nebula came to visit him in his new room that was much more appropriate for a person who was of the living. "You didn't listen to me," she snapped, when she rushed in._

" _Whatever happened to knocking?"_

" _Don't get cute with me. I told you to not let him get inside your head. Do you realize what you're doing? What you're planning to do?"_

" _Of course I know what I am doing! I am going down to Midgard to fulfill my birthright as a king."_

 _Nebula narrowed her eyes at him. "You never wanted the throne in your own realm. Now all of sudden you care about ruling? Thanos took your anger, your rage and turned it into an instrument of destruction. He's using you."_

" _And what were you doing, Nebula?" he asked as he stalked closer to her. "I am nothing more than a way for you to forget about your hardships. Is that it? Are you upset that I am no longer a prisoner? That I have a purpose and you can no longer come to me and share your pathetic life?" She charged at him and grabbed his throat with her metal hand. He wasn't so much surprised by the tight hold on his throat, but by the large display of emotions going on in her eyes. On instinct, he had pulled out his dagger and held it to her throat. They stood there, staring into each other's eyes. "Can I assume that this means that you will miss me?" he asked quietly._

" _No."_

" _You really do need to get better at lying."_

 _She tore her hand away from him and stepped away. He caught his breath and rubbed his now tender throat. She crossed her arms. "This will probably be the last time we ever see each other."_

" _It's a possibility."_

" _Then let me try one more time to convince you-"_

" _Nebula, shush for one minute." She closed her mouth but glared at him. He whispered, "Do you honestly think I will give your father the cube or the scepter back once I have my kingdom safely secured?"_

 _She blinked in confusion. "You would double cross him?"_

 _He chuckled, "My whole life I have been called the God of Mischief. I think it's about time I embraced that title." It was about time he accepted that he was no longer the quiet man who stood off to the side and bit his tongue. He enjoyed the smartass comments. Besides it wasn't all that changed. His hair had grown much longer since he had fallen through the wormhole and he seemed paler then he ever had._

" _You're going to Earth to take over, but you won't give Thanos the stones?"_

" _You know you have a knack for rehashing the obvious."_

" _Loki," she said annoyed. "He will hunt you down if you keep the stones away from him."_

" _Probably. But I will be the one in possession of two Infinity Stones, not him." He smirked, feeling the rush from his devilish plans of betrayal._

 _Nebula just shook her head, either impressed or worried. "You…you…"_

" _Yes?"_

 _She took a deep breath. "Don't get yourself killed."_

 _He smirked. "You definitely will miss me, won't you?" She didn't answer him. She turned to leave and when she reached the door, she gave him one more look over, as if she was memorizing what he looked like to remember. That was the last time he saw the feisty blue girl._

 _And in the end, she had been right about everything._

…

 _Maybe he truly had wanted a chance to rule, to prove himself a good king. Maybe he had just wanted to lash out and his attack on Earth was nothing more than a childish act, seeking attention. But the truth was that Thanos had manipulated him to go down to Earth and attempt a takeover and the sad thing was it was easy. It was easy. He had failed and lost the war to "The Avengers" and was dragged back home by Thor. He could have told Thor or Odin or someone about what had happened on Thanos's ship. The daily torture, always filled with fresh blood and agony. He should have told them about the stone that Thanos used to show him his purpose. They might have understood that he wasn't completely in control of his actions._

 _But he didn't tell anyone. Not even his mother when she visited him via magic. The truth was he was still under the influence of the stone. He still believed that he was in the right and Odin was to blame for everything that happened. In his mind they never gave him a fair chance, so if they wanted a God of Mischief, they were going to get one._

 _And then a guard came to him in his obnoxiously bright prison cell. He said four words, "Your mother is dead." That cracked the spell. He was finally seeing things clearly. Nebula had been right, Thanos got into his head and turned him all around. His mother had been right, a true king should accept his mistakes. And stars above, had he made a lot of mistakes._

 _And his mother._

 _She was gone._

 _The last words he had ever said to her were that she was not his mother. Stupid, idiot! Why had he been so cruel? Why had he been so weak to fall subject to Thanos's mind games? Loki sat in his cell, hours after the guard had left, everything torn apart, all the gifts his mother had sent him to make him comfortable. The mirror was shattered, the furniture broken into pieces. He was probably a sight to see, his long hair was a frizzy mess and he was sitting amongst the scattered furniture. He just sat there against the wall wanting to curl up and scream. What was he to do now, but sit and promise to try take responsibility for his actions. For the sake of his mother's memory. The only person who had loved him no matter what he did._

…

" _Trust my rage," he whispered, after Thor had turned around and walked back to the sleeping mortal Jane Foster. They were coasting along in an Asgardian vessel in the dark world heading to confront the dark Elf, Malekith, and have the Aether removed from the mortal who had unknowingly absorbed the Infinity Stone in its raw form. This was also his chance to get revenge for his mother's death._

 _Thor abruptly spun around, apparently he heard him. The two brothers stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, both remembering what it had been like before they had drifted apart. Thor glanced down at the ground and cleared his throat. "We need a plan of attack," he stated._

" _I'm not doing "Get Help"."_

 _Thor chuckled, "Fine, but we do need a well thought out plan."_

" _Alright, give me a moment and I'll think of something."_

" _What makes you think that I wanted you to think up the plan all by yourself?"_

" _The last time you said we needed a battle plan you came up with "Get Help". That is still by far the worse plan I have ever heard."_

" _I already have a plan."_

" _Oh dear."_

" _Wait, hear me out." Thor's plan was for Loki to pretend to betray him and give Jane over to the Elves. That way the Aether could be pulled from her and then it would be exposed so that it could be destroyed. Well, it wasn't worse than "Get Help". "Maybe you can hurt me," Thor continued. "To really sell your betrayal, you should injure me."_

" _I could stab you."_

" _Yes! Excellent! You always did like to stab me for some reason." Loki chuckled finding Thor's enthusiasm for being stabbed hilarious. "I'm not sure though. Stabbing me might not be enough."_

 _Loki smirked and sarcastically said, "Your hammer is an annoying weapon, maybe I could prevent you from using it by cutting off your hand."_

" _That is a wonderful idea!"_

 _Loki's smile vanished. "What?"_

" _Well, you have your healing powers, right? You could heal me up as good as new."_

" _Well, yes but-"_

" _But what?"_

 _But Thor trusted him enough to actually heal him and not betray him to the Elves? Even after everything he had done? Why? He had no reason to and he had bluntly said that he no longer believed that the person Loki used to be was still inside him. He had picked up the habit of hiding his true feelings by being sarcastic or changing the subject completely and he didn't want Thor to see him become emotional at his supposed trust. He swallowed. "But why would I want to waste my power on healing you? If there is a fight to be had, I need all of my strength."_

 _Thor nodded, but said, "You are capable with your dagger, brother." That was the first time he had ever complemented him on his strengths. "Do what you wish, but promise me something?"_

" _What?"_

" _Don't drain yourself too much and I want you to make sure Jane gets to safety if this doesn't turn out the way we planned. And don't try to be the hero."_

 _Loki was confused by that last one but he promised anyways._

…

 _Somehow he had managed to break all three promises to Thor._

 _Loki had stabbed Thor, kicked him around shouting lies left and right, and cut off his hand as requested. Poor Jane had no idea what was happening, but hopefully if they all made it out of this alive she wouldn't slap both of them for not telling her the plan. The Aether was exposed and Thor shouted, "Loki, now!" With a flash of green he healed Thor of all injuries and even went the extra length in conjuring up the metal arm pieces of Thor's armor. Well, so much for not draining himself._

 _He protected Jane from the blast of lightning hitting the Aether and then again when he pushed her out of the way of an incoming grenade thrown by the giant Elf that had broken prisoners out of Asgard and had killed his mother. He then went about defeating a small group of Elves. It was easy, really. After he had cut the last one's throat he saw Thor being beaten to a pulp by the giant Elf. He ran and grabbed one of the fallen Elf's sharp spear. Well, so much for getting Jane Foster to safety._

 _Loki ran up behind the giant Elf and drove the sharp spear through the monster's back. He hadn't even thought about his actions when he did it. He was just filled with this fear that he had to go and save Thor before the oaf got himself killed. He had to save the only person who was still alive who would give him a chance for redemption. The Elf slowly turned around, the spear sticking out of his bleeding chest. He growled at Loki and before Loki could think the Elf had grabbed him and forced the sharp blade through his own chest. He didn't even scream, pain was an old friend. He managed to activate a grenade tied to the Elf's hip before he threw Loki to the ground. "See you in hell, monster," he said just before the grenade went off, imploding around the disgusting Elf until he had vanished. Their mother had been avenged even if it meant him getting hurt. Well, so much for not being the hero._

 _He was too drained to heal himself of such a huge injury and much to his horror he felt cold. Freezing cold. He had never felt cold in his life. Stars above. He was going to die. Thor ran to him and dropped to his knees, pulling him closer to examine his wound. It hurt and he was shaking and gasping but this was nothing like the blinding pain he had felt on Thanos's ship. When Thor didn't see any magic being conjured up to save Loki, he shook his head understanding that he was drained._

" _Ah, you fool you didn't listen."_

 _A truer statement had never been spoken. He hadn't listened and broken every promise he had made on the vessel. But he did not care about that and that was not what filled him with stomach clenching regret and guilt. It was everything else. "I know. I'm a fool. I'm a fool."_

" _Just stay with me, okay?"_

" _I'm sorry," he said before repeating it. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Thor had to know that he truly was sorry for everything._

" _It's okay."_

 _And those two words filled Loki with such an overwhelming peace. He could die now and be okay with it, because Thor had said that everything was okay. "I'll tell father what you did here today." Classic Thor always trying to bring their father into things that he had nothing to do with._

 _Loki weakly shook his head. "I didn't do it for him." He hadn't. He had not thought about Odin once, who was probably sitting on his throne making plans to send more warriors into a battle they had no hope of winning. He had done it for Thor, for his mother, and for himself. Everything started to become bleary. He had never thought that he would die in some wasteland with storm clouds brewing overhead in the arms of his brother._

 _His eyes slipped shut and he was prepared for whatever awaited him on the other side._

…

 _Surprise, surprise, he didn't die. In fact he woke up all alone in a daze. The clouds were still in the sky and the wind was still blowing up a storm. How the hell was he still alive? He glanced down at his chest and saw the faint glow of his magic. He had been at death's doors and probably had passed out and somehow his drained magic had just saved him in time. The wound was still there, scarring over, not as good as new as he was used to, but he was alive. Alive and abandoned in this terrible dark world._

 _Thor had probably thought he was dead. Hell, Loki thought he was dead until this very moment. Well what to do now. He stayed where he was, slowly regaining his strength, healing the wound up, and his color going from deathly gray back to his pale complexion. Once he was sure that he was okay, he stood up and brushed himself off. Thor and Jane no doubt went after Malekith and the Aether. Now he was left in this dismal world to wander about and look for a way home._

 _Home._

 _He felt that he should go back to Asgard, he wasn't sure why but he knew what he wanted to do so he would find a way off of this planet. He hid behind some boulders when he heard people talking. He worried that it was the Elves, but it was only a few Asgardian guards scouting around, probably looking for him and Thor. They had two ships. One had two guards standing by and the other one was off to the sidelines empty. He disguised himself as a guard and was able to walk down from his hiding spot and get on the empty ship without anybody stopping him. He flew away on the ship and went back through the secret way he had learned about to get back to Asgard._

 _The plan formed in an instant and he knew that he would do it before it had been completely formed. He wanted to see if Odin would have cared if he had died. Maybe he did have daddy issues. But this was an opportunity that he could not pass up._

…

" _Forgive me, my liege," he said in the guard's voice as he approached Odin who was standing by his golden throne. "I've returned from the dark world with news."_

 _Odin wearily turned. "Thor?"_

 _Loki shook his head. "There was no sign of Thor or the weapon, but…" He paused for dramatic effect and slowly stepped closer._

 _Odin faced him completely now. "What?"_

" _We found a body." That's all he said. He wanted to see if Odin would figure it out, if he would care. He lowered his head like a good warrior would do when his king had lost a family member. If, of course, Odin still considered him family._

 _Odin was silent for a moment and then said, "Loki." It wasn't a realization or an acknowledgment. Odin was saying his name because he knew it was him. Loki half smirked. Well that plan backfired on him. "What are you doing here?"_

 _Loki transformed back to himself. "Honestly, I did not know why I wanted to come back here. I thought it was because I wanted to see how you would react to me being dead, but…now I see why I truly came back." He stepped closer to the Allfather, who clenched his staff tightly._

" _To kill me?"_

" _No. To confront you." Odin blinked his one eye in confusion. "My whole life you treated me as less than Thor's equal. You made me feel like an outsider in my own home, my own kingdom. Even if I never found out that I was a Frost Giant, I still would have one day snapped like I did. And yes, I made some mistakes that I am taking responsibility for now, but how is what I did any different from what Thor did? He went to Jotunheim to kill every last Frost Giant, I went to Midgard to rule them. He got banished for a weekend and I got thrown in the dungeons with the knowledge that I would never see my mother again." Loki couldn't help but tear up at the thought of his mother. All he had wanted was to feel her embrace when he was locked up on Thanos's ship and he never did because as soon as he got to Asgard he was locked up again._

 _Odin glanced down. "I have made some mistakes along the way, but the decisions I make are always with the best intensions."_

 _Loki started laughing. "The best intensions? You threw Thor out like he was nothing, you locked me away to forget about your troubled son, and you sacrifice soldiers like they were chess pawns."_

 _Odin shook his head sadly. "I had hoped that one day, all would be forgiven and that the four of us would live again as a family." The four of us. Odin, his mother, Thor, and himself. The thought made him long for it. He thought about the golden field and how happy they all used to be. Was it his fault that they were no longer together, that-that they were broken apart?_

 _He didn't know. He wiped the tears from his face and looked up at Odin. "Well, I guess we'll never know, will we?" Odin was not fit to rule, he could finally see that. He hid secrets and lied all the time. "You are not worthy of your position." Loki flicked his hand, Odin's staff disappeared in a flash of green and reappeared in his hand. "You have betrayed your loved ones countless times. Over and over and over again. For this I say you should know what it feels like."_

 _He grabbed Odin by the shoulder and teleported them to the Bifrost in another flash of green. He created the illusion that nothing out of the ordinary was happening for the guards nearby. "Guards!" Odin shouted as Loki pulled him to the center of the Bifrost._

 _He put the staff in the middle of the Bifrost and started it up. The electricity sizzled and cracked as it opened up and shot the rainbow white light towards Earth. "They can't hear you."_

" _What are you going to do to me, Loki?"_

" _I going to do what you did. I'm going to cast you out like you did to Thor and make you forget all about Asgard. And one day when you remember this place and who you are and what you've done, you will understand what it is like to be different and unaccepted." He put his hand to Odin's forehead and the old man collapsed to the ground. The spell erased his memories, but Loki had no doubt that Odin would eventually break it. He also stripped him of his powers and transformed his armor to Earthen clothes._

 _Maybe he shouldn't be doing this, but he felt in the right and he finally knew what his purpose was. His real purpose. He was born to be a king, but he had never wanted to rule. Now he could see that he had to rule to keep his promise to make his mother proud and to make up for everything he had done. He would be a good and just king, unlike Odin who was unfair and prejudiced. He wouldn't take advantage of his power like rulers before. He would be the king that he had thought Odin had been when he was a child looking up to his father._

 _And maybe, just maybe, he would finally get the attention that he had been denied for centuries._

…

 _Well things did not go according to plan. At all. But despite being found out by Thor, falling through a portal for thirty minutes, their father dying, their unknown sister causing havoc, having to suck up to the idiotic Grandmaster, being shocked by one of those annoying disk things for fifteen minutes, and enacting Ragnarok, all was pretty well. He and Thor had worked together to save the people of Asgard and that's what mattered. They were finally together again, brothers, side by side heading into an uncertain but hopefully bright future. Maybe towards one where he could forget about the pain and the bloody mistakes he had made._

 _One filled with redemption._

 _They were standing in Thor's self-claimed captain's quarters staring out the large window into the vastness of space. Loki was pleased that everything had ended the way it had but he had to bring up what was on his mind. "Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?"_

" _Yes, of course. The people love me there."_

 _Did Loki really have to spell it out for the idiot? "Let me rephrase that. Do you really think it's a good idea to bring me back to Earth?"_

" _No, probably not." Well, at least he was honest. "But, I believe everything will turn out alright, brother."_

 _Loki wasn't happy with Thor's decision and was about to open his mouth to argue the point, when a giant dark space ship flew into their view. It loomed above them and then right in front of them. Loki's mouth fell open in shock and in horror. He had never thought he would see that horrible ship again. But here he was seeing it right in front of his eyes. Thanos's ship._

 _Stars above._

…

It all happened in a matter of seconds.

Seven or eight seconds to be exact.

Wanda saw and felt everything in a jumbled, yet understandable mess of information and emotions. This overload was nothing new to her. When she had been working for Ultron, she had entered the Avenger's heads and seen their fears. But she had been more limited than this. So either she was more powerful now then what she was or Loki's mind was just so _open_.

Probably the latter. It seemed that he spent so much time thinking about all the pain and mistakes and heartaches that it just radiated off of him in waves. Waves that someone like Wanda could come in and examine without hardly using any of her powers. And everything that she had examined shook her to her core.

All that pain, the regret, the deep and passionate longing for acceptance…it was enough to change her opinion of him. Because she hadn't just been in his head for seven or eight seconds reading him, it was like she had been living his life.

She had been there learning magic, being an outcast, feeling the betrayal of Odin, being tortured by Thanos, talking with Nebula, fighting Thor, being stabbed, making the wrong choices, feeling the soft lure of redemption.

It was enough to make her gasp out loud and tear up. And unfortunately because of the intrusive and "lively" nature of her powers, he was dragged along for the ride, being forced to relive it all in his subconscious. So it was no surprise that when she left his mind completely, he snapped awake in a panic. The last memory she had seen had been that Thanos's ship was coming. Of course he was in a panic. He thought he was still on the ship with his brother preparing for the inevitable fight.

What was surprising was when a dagger formed in his hand with a flash of green light and he sat up in a rush, pulling her by the neck close to him. She gasped again and saw how dangerously close the dagger was to her face and the fear stricken, tear laced emerald eyes of the man who she now felt a connection with.

"What the hell did you just do to me?" he whispered, his voice sounding strained.

She could hear the loud and concerned cries behind her coming from her teammates. They had no idea what was happening; as far as they knew she just had knelt next to Loki and had entered his mind. They didn't know that she had gotten more than she had bargained for and that Loki was in the middle of a mild panic attack.

"Everyone freeze!" she shouted, hoping that would stop her teammates from overreacting. "I'm fine! I just surprised him that's all." She never stopped looking at those rich and haunting eyes of Loki's. She spoke softly to him. "I didn't mean to do… _that_ , I just-I'm sorry." He glanced around wildly, trying to catch his bearings, trying to remember where he was. "You're on the Quinjet with the remaining Avengers. We're going to Wakanda because there we can destroy the stone in Vis's head without killing him."

His eyes shone in realization and his shoulders relaxed. He roughly let go of her, put the dagger away, and pressed the tips of his fingers against his temples. He let out a shaky breath. He would need a minute or two to calm back down.

Wanda decided to stay close, but she did turn her head to give an, it's okay, look to the team before focusing all of her attention back on Loki. Rhodey was still piloting the plane and Bruce, surprisingly, was still asleep, but Vision, Steve, Natasha, and Sam all had that urgent and startled look on their faces. It was the look you got when you saw a threat or saw your friend being threatened. They were all close enough to know that if one of them was in trouble, the other ones would try to save him or her. To have friends like that meant a lot to her, but right now she needed them to dial back their heroic instincts so not to push Loki over the edge. "I'm fine," she said again. Nobody made a move to get closer, but nobody's suspicious looks went away either.

"I don't know what you did to me," Loki mumbled, pulling her attention back to him. "But don't you _ever_ do it again."

She nodded. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I really didn't mean to do that."

"And what _did_ you mean to do?" He dropped his hands from his head only to glare at her. He was ticked off and rightfully so. She had been an intruder and had seen things that he had never told anyone else before. No doubt he was angry, as well as still slightly panicked.

But there was no point in trying to lie to the expert liar. "We wanted to see if you were telling the truth about being willing to help us fight against Thanos."

His lips formed into thin lines. His hands balled into fists. "So, they sent you over to invade my mind." It wasn't a question, but a blanket statement. Wanda was holding tightly onto her powers to make sure they didn't cause any more problems, but even then she could feel his growing, barely contained rage. "Do you trust me now? Hmm? Or do you wish to mock me now that you've seen _everything_?"

He stood up from where he was still sitting across the seats only to sit back down in the furthest away seat in that same row. He wanted to be alone, but in a small plane like this, that was kind of impossible. Wanda didn't know what to do, besides stand up because her knees were starting to hurt from being bent for so long. Maybe if she left him alone he would be fine.

Of course, that wasn't what she was going to do.

She slowly and attentively sat down next to him. He let out an annoyed sigh. She blinked her eyes several times in a sort of flusteredness and decided on the best words to say. "What I did was an accident, but why I was doing it was wrong and unfair. I see that now." He turned to her, his eyes looking over her for any hint of mockery or sarcasm. "We all have been so judgmental and untrusting that I don't think any of us thought that there was another side to you. And now that I've seen it, I want to get to know you better."

Loki blinked and appeared either surprised or choked up. Or maybe it was both. He glanced away from her and nodded. "Well, um…that's… Are you sure that's what you really want? I, uh, I'm not exactly a good person."

She shrugged. "Neither am I."

He scoffed at that, sounding more like himself. "You? Really? You're a part of the Earth's mightiest heroes, _of course_ you're a good person."

"Oh, please! My twin brother, Pietro and I once helped a giant metal robot try and kill the Avengers."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, you see, we had a vendetta against Tony Stark…" As Wanda started telling Loki her life story (it was only fair, after all, she had seen his entire life) she noticed that he had calmed down back to normal and seemed to open himself ever so slightly. Open himself up to the possibility that she truly wanted to give him a chance. That was good. Because she truly did. It was sad that it took her seeing his whole life to make her want to, but…it is what it is.

"So, you just agreed to be experimented on by the creepy Strucker guy?" he asked once she had gotten to the part of how she and Pietro had obtained their powers.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. You know how that is."

He nodded. "Point taken. So, Strucker used my scepter to give you and your brother powers and that's how you got your impressive, but slightly annoying, telepathic powers."

"Not just that."

"Oh?"

She smiled a small mischievous smile. She lifted her hand and started bending her fingers to form her red energy or magic or whatever it was. Loki sat back and stared at the small see-through ball of energy that was going around her hand at her command. "Huh," he said impressed. "Scarlet Witch…I get it now."

"I'm not really sure what it is, but it allows me to control all different types of matter."

"Telekinetic as well. May I?" He had his hand reached out for her's. She nodded and put her hand in his open hand. He placed his other hand on top of her's. She could just imagine what the others were thinking. Why was she holding hands with the terrible god man? Had she gone crazy? Well, for one she wasn't holding hands, she was letting Loki feel her red energy because he was possibly the only person who knew exactly what it was. "It's not magic. At least not the traditional type of magic or the harnessing type of magic."

"What are those and what's the difference?"

"Harnessing magic is when you use magic or energy from other realms to create spells and whatnot. Traditional magic is when you learn it, practice it, and it eventually becomes a part of you. It's like training in sports. After you get the hang of it, you don't just forget how to throw far or run in sprints. The only problem with that type of magic is that once you master it, it is really easy to use and to rely on, but…"

"It drains you." Loki nodded. "Why does it do that?"

"Because traditional magic is like anything else. You run too long, your side hurts. You land on your ankle wrong, it rolls. Use too much magic, you get drained of all energy. And speaking of energy…" He let go of her hand. "I think your…scarlet powers are some sort of constantly regenerating energy that only _you_ can conjure and control."

Wanda looked at her hand, the energy still lingering around it. "Interesting."

"Indeed. Who knew that the Mind Stone could be so powerful. It gave you and your brother fantastical abilities and powers your boyfriend."

She chuckled, "If you knew how powerful it truly was, would you have tried to have kept it?"

Loki shrugged with a half-smile. "Maybe. But then I probably wouldn't have met you or your Vision. And as you saw, I don't really have a good history with that stone. But you were telling me about Strucker before I interrupted."

"Right…" She continued telling him about how she and Pietro had met Ultron, the A.I. robot who thought that destroying the planet would bring about peace, and how they had tried to kill the Avengers before realizing that Ultron had to be stopped. They banned together with them and the newly created Vision to fight at the Battle of Sokovia against all of Ultron's "minions" and saved the planet from its horrible fate.

"And then you joined the Avengers," Loki finished before she could.

"Yes. They gave me a home and a chance to do something good with my life."

"It's a nice story. It would make a good TV special, it's filled with emotion _and_ sentiment." He was being sarcastic. He did that when he was covering up his own emotions or just because he didn't know what else to say. It wasn't the worst personality flaw. "Your brother join up, too?"

Wanda felt her light carefree mood drain away. She glanced down at her folded hands in her lap. "Pietro was killed by Ultron saving Clint Barton."

Loki froze at that. "Oh." Neither of them said anything for a while. Then Loki whispered, "Sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. I…" she let out a deep breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I've learned to cope. But, you know." He nodded, with understanding. "I guess that's something we have in common. Brothers dying to protect others from power-hungry jackasses."

Loki sighed, suddenly sounding tired again. "I suppose so."

The silence before was uncomfortable, filled with the horrible aching loss, but now that feeling was only a shadow of what it had been and now the silence was filled with something much more tricky and dangerous then loss: hope. Hope for the future and hope for new friendships. Wanda hoped that one day, she could say that these events on the Quinjet flying to Wakanda were the foundation to her friendship with Loki. Loki just hoped that he didn't ruin this chance he was being given by this odd and powerful girl.

"You seem tired," she said, changing subjects and dragging them both out of their thoughts. "You should try to sleep again. Regain all of your strength."

"Yeah, alright. No messing with my head this time."

"Of course not!"

"Just kidding," he said with a smirk. He didn't lay back down on the seats, but rather just laid his head against the back of the seat he was currently in and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost immediately afterwards.

She decided that she was ready to get up and stretch her legs. She would tell the others that it was okay to trust Loki. She stood up and turned and saw that Vision, Steve, Natasha, and Sam were still standing in the same places that they had been when they jumped up to intervene. "Oh, please tell me you four were not just standing there the whole time."

Sam shrugged, "I wanted to see what would happen next. I don't know what everyone else's excuse is."

Wanda glared at him and stepped closer to the others. They all migrated closer to the cockpit and the science nook, so they wouldn't disturb the sleeping Bruce and now Loki. Rhodey looked over his shoulder at them. "So what in the hell were you and Loki talking about for so long? I couldn't hear."

"I told you, man," Sam told Rhodey, "you shoulda put the plane on autopilot and joined us in listening in."

Natasha crossed her arms and glared at the two men. They both shut up. The former assassin then rounded on Wanda. "So you're best friends with the God of Death and Destruction now?"

Wanda took a deep breath and prepared for the numerous objections. "You may not like this, but I think we can trust him."

"You're joking, right?" Sam chuckled. Wanda hardened her gaze at him. He stopped chuckling. "She ain't joking."

"Wanda," Steve said in his "voice of reason" tone. "I know that you and Loki…had a _moment_ there or whatever, but you were only in his head for a few seconds. Was that really enough time to-"

"Believe me, it was _more_ than enough time. And he's not what you think."

"Oh really?" Natasha scoffed. "'Cause, I think he's the creep who tried to kill everyone five years ago."

"Yeah well, you weren't in his head like I was!" she said a bit more loudly then she had planned on. She closed her eyes; there had to be a way to make them understand. "He's was hurting and vulnerable when Thanos found him. And from what I saw, it didn't take too much to break him and order him to do Thanos's will."

"What are you saying?" Rhodey asked shaking his head. "That he _didn't_ want to attack New York?"

"Yes-no. I-it's complicated. The point is he did some bad and regrettable things, but he is trying to make up for it."

"By being a sarcastic asshole?" Natasha quipped.

"It's his coping devise."

"I agree with Wanda," Vision said. It was the first time he had spoken since she had come back over and to hear him agree with her, made her smile. Of course she shouldn't have been so surprised, he seemed willing to trust Loki before she had even gone into his head.

"Big surprise," Sam mumbled. "She's your girlfriend, of course you'll pick her side."

"Not to mention the "God" did _one_ non-selfish thing by healing him," Rhodey added.

Vision ignored the comments by the two men and instead attempted to make his point. "If Loki were a threat to us, he would've already made a move. And the fact that this Thanos is responsible for the death of Thor makes him want revenge against him and the only way to do that is by helping us."

Natasha shook her head, not buying it. "Loki is a master at manipulation. I've seen it first-hand. What he did to Clint, to Selvig. And he had no problem trying to kill Thor before, what would change him so drastically that he would actually care."

Wanda had tons of respect for Natasha Romanoff, but right now she was finding her stubbornness to not only be problematic but also annoying as hell. "Losing their parents brought the two brothers back together. They helped save the people of their world. _Together._ If you don't believe me, ask Banner, he was there."

"Even if all of this is true, am I the only one who has a problem with accepting help from a former super-villain?" Sam asked.

Wanda was also getting tired of Sam's comments. "Yes, because the Avengers have _never_ fought alongside with the people who once wanted to kill them." She had said it with a bitter bite to it because this whole thing was making her mad. She had just told Loki the story of how she had once wanted the Avengers dead at her and Pietro's feet and yet she had been given a second chance. Now these people weren't even giving Loki the same consideration that they had for her.

Vision softly looked at Wanda with deep understanding and followed her example. "Or with devices that were originally made to eradicate the entire human species."

That was true, too. Everyone onboard knew that Vision was originally going to be Ultron's ultimate form, or at the very least his "child". And they all gave him a chance to prove himself to be trustful, and why? Just because he could lift that stupid hammer?

"You both make valid points," Rhodey said trying to be sensitive. "But I'm sorry, I still don't trust the guy on anything other than on face value."

Natasha nodded her head in agreement. Wanda sighed and glanced at Vision. Were they in the minority in this? Sam was watching Steve and asked, "Cap, you alright? You haven't said anything in a while."

Steve stood against the desk, deep in thought. "I was just thinking about why the Avengers broke up." Everyone turned around to look at the tired and weary soldier, wondering where he was going with this. "The Avengers broke up not only because of the Accords but because half of us were willing to protect a man who the rest of the world had condemned as a killer…"

Bucky Barnes.

Steve didn't even have to say his old friend's name, everyone onboard knew who he was talking about. Wanda had never thought about it, but Loki and Bucky were very similar as they both had done some terrible actions that they both desperately wanted to take back. And Steve was right. If they could trust Bucky, who had been brainwashed for years on end and assassinated hundreds, why not Loki?

"I don't know what you saw," he looked up at Wanda, "but you know more than any of us, so if you say we can trust him, then I will try my hardest."

After hearing the Captain say that, Wanda smiled feeling like a huge battle had been won. Vision stepped next to her and grabbed her hand; he smiled too. Rhodey and Sam gave each other a look and shrugged not exactly happy about Steve's decision but ultimately nodded that they would try, too. Natasha bit her bottom lip and agreed to trust him only as long as the threat of Thanos was around.

Well, that was a start.

Steve addressed the group once more because he could tell that half of them didn't like this. "Some of us will have issues trusting Loki right away, I can about guarantee that, but if that's the case I think we should _just_ do what he asked us to do." He looked from person to person to make his point very clear. "Don't trust him, trust his rage."

Wanda had always liked Captain Rogers.

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 _Author's Note Again: If you couldn't tell, I don't really like Odin. And also I'm heartless for putting Loki through so much pain, but… I promise, next chapter Loki will meet the Black Panther group and Bucky Barnes and all the "can Loki be trusted?" stuff is now officially over. I'm sorry if this chapter feels more like filler or like a chapter to just explain the past, but I felt it was necessary to show someone other than Bruce (and Vision) start to trust Loki. And also I wanted to do the flashbacks. So, I figured if Wanda went into his head and saw everything and started to understand him, I could kill two birds with one stone. (One Infinity Stone! Ha! See what I did there? No? Okay, I'll leave…)_

 _I'm sorry if it's like I'm making Natasha the bad guy here for not wanting to trust Loki, but I figured out of all of the remaining Avengers, she would have the most issues with Loki being back. And I have an idea of how to redeem her in future chapters._

 _Also, I must say that this is not a Loki/Nebula story or a Loki/Wanda story. Both ships are fascinating and I may do something with them at a later time, but not in this story. This story is essentially about "fixing" IW by putting Loki in the mix and giving him the redemption arc most of us thought he was going to get. So, the relationship between him and Wanda will stay a friendship/brother sister bond (besides I love Wanda/Vision) and if Nebula and Loki were to meet up again for some reason (hint, hint) they would just build up a stronger friendship._

 _One other thing is that I am writing this story without a beta reader and I try to proof read it for mistakes, but I can't catch them all. So if anyone catches a misspelling or grammatical error or anything like that, please tell me so I can fix it. Thanks._

 _I guess that's all I have to say._

 _Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! They make me so happy! Love you all. Bye!_


	5. Chapter Four

_Author's Note: I don't remember the exact science lines said in IW and I know next to nothing in terms of crazy smart science things, so if I'm vague, this is why. Enjoy the chapter!_

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 _Chapter Four: The Humans Continue to Impress_

Someone was tapping him on the shoulder. "Loki? Wake up, we're almost here." That was Wanda.

 _We're almost there?_

Loki felt as if he had just fallen back into that deep and restful sleep that he had been in before he had been literally yanked out of his sleep and was forced to relive the hurtful past. He wasn't holding a grudge for what happened against Wanda, quite the opposite actually. He had silently forgiven her. But it still was an experience that had shaken him to his core and had left him fuming at The Avengers and their lack of trust. On the other hand, now that there was another living person who seemed to understand him or at least wanted to try and understand him, he decided that he would have relived through it all again and dealt with the Earth's mightiest heroes in order to just get to this point.

"What if I don't want to wake up?" he mumbled, rubbing his closed eyes.

"Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that I make you get up."

He heard the playfulness in her tone and chuckled, "You wouldn't use your powers like that on me after what happened so recently." He opened his eyes. She was just off to his left, her arms crossed and she smirked slightly.

"True. But when I said I'd make you get up, I meant by continuously pestering you."

"Oh. Oops." He sat himself up right in the chair and stretched his arms over his head. He could feel that his magic was back up to its full capacity.

 _It was about time, too._

He sat forward and waved his hand over his horrible looking cut on the side of his head and it healed up with his trademark flash of green shimmering magic. He ran his fingers across where the scaring cut had been and felt the newly healed and smooth skin. "All rested up I see," Vision said from somewhere behind Wanda. "Good, now you're ready for the possible battle."

Loki stood up from his seat, Wanda took a step backwards to get out of his way. Rhodey and Sam were still in the cockpit piloting the Quinjet, the dear Captain was still hovering by them, Bruce was awake and seated next to Natasha in the other row of seats, and Vision was by the science nook. Loki glanced at the red android and said, "Believe me, the battle is not a possibility, but an inevitability." He walked up to the cockpit, next to Steve, to see this so-called most technological advanced city in the world. Instead, he saw that they were heading for a bunch of large full green trees. "Um, I don't mean to ask a potently dumb question, but why are we about to crash into some trees?"

"Actually, I was wondering that myself," Rhodey said, glancing at Steve over his shoulder.

"Don't worry," Steve said. "The coordinates I gave you are right. Just keep going straight ahead."

Rhodey muttered, "Okay." He kept on course and when they should have crashed into the trees, they passed right through them and several layers of bouncing reflecting light. "That was a hologram?"

Steve smiled, "Yeah. The Wakandans recently opened up their country to outsiders, but they still like their privacy."

Wakanda was just beyond the hologram slash protective barrier: It was a beautiful and built up city that had towering sleek colored buildings and monorail like devises connecting them to each other. Hovercrafts flew through the air and close to the ground as a means of transportation. There was also a lot of open space to each direction of the main city, mostly yellow grassed fields with some wooded areas, but there was also a snowy mountain range off to the East. This place was like a whole other world in comparison to the other massive cities of Earth. And the whole place left Loki speechless.

Like seriously.

He had been to many different planets and realms during his lifetime and they all had their own unique quality to them that made them special, but the one thing that they all had in common was constancy. All of Asgard was elegant and golden. All of Jotunheim was frozen and barren. All of Sakaar was crazy and filled with trash. But now he could say that Midgard, Earth, was different. All the cities he had previously seen, seemed identical with their simplest architecture and overuse of big clear glass windows. But Wakanda… This place truly looked like they had landed on a different world altogether.

And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

They flew down closer to a large black and gray sleek building where a tall and strong African man wearing black robes with silver and white embroidery along the collar stood with a small group of fierce looking bald African women who were all holding spears. Well this just kept getting better and better. Rhodey called out, "Prepare for landing." The people already not sitting took their seats and held on as the Quinjet slowly and vertically landed on a landing pad. Rhodey flipped a few switches, the engines powered down, and the ramp opened up and humid heat spilled into the plane.

So far, that was his only problem with Wakanda, its location. Being in Africa, one of the hottest continents on Earth, meant warmer weather and he had never liked the heat.

The dear Captain exited the plane first, followed by Natasha and Sam. The three of them greeted the man in the fancy robes, who smiled warmly at them. Obviously they all knew each other from some place. Maybe the robed man was a part-time Avenger. Vision and Wanda stepped out together and joined the other three. Bruce waited for Rhodey to finish up turning off the plane and doing whatever else it was he was doing and then they left. "Coming?" Bruce asked Loki as he walked by with Rhodey at his side. Loki hesitated. Bruce noticed. "Problem?"

Loki shook his head. "No. It's nothing, I just…"

"Yeah?"

"I already went through the tiring hassle of gaining the other's trusts or partial trusts several times today." He took a deep breath and said quietly, "And now I have to do it again."

Bruce stepped back on the plane. "Look, Rhodey and Sam messaged ahead before we even left. We don't have to explain anything or ourselves. I think they won't question your being here or whether you're trustful. And even if they do, who cares. They can just deal with it."

Loki half smiled. He was really starting to like Bruce. "Alright, then. Let's not keep them waiting." They both got off of the plane and joined Rhodey, who had waited for Bruce, in walking across the concrete bridge that connected to the landing pad. Loki motioned to the robed man and asked Bruce, "So, who's that then?"

"I don't know."

"Who are the women who all look like they could kill me without even trying around him?"

"I don't know that either."

"That's unfortunate."

Rhodey sighed, "The guy is King T'Challa also known as the Black Panther. He rules the place."

"He's a king?" Bruce whispered as they were just about to reach the small group.

"Yeah."

"S-should I, uh, bow or something?"

Rhodey shook his head and said with a hint of mischief, "Oh yeah, definitely."

Bruce was about to bow when Loki stopped him. "I think your friend was just playing with you. Don't bow." Bruce turned to Rhodey who glared at Loki like a child does when their fun is spoiled. Loki shrugged. "I'm the God of Mischief, I can tell the difference between sincerity and trickery."

The robed man, T'Challa, chuckled apparently having heard what happened. "He is right. There is no need to bow here," he said in a thick accent, almost thicker than Wanda's.

"Sorry," Bruce said.

T'Challa smiled and softly shook his head. "There is also no need to apologize." He then turned his attention back to the rest of the group, specifically Vision. "My sister, Shuri, waits for us in her lab. When I told her of your plans to remove the stone from your head, she was positively ecstatic."

"Really?" Vision said slightly confused.

T'Challa chuckled again. "What can I say? My sister loves a challenge. Come." He motioned for everyone to follow him as he and, as Loki realized them to be, his female body guards walked towards the black and gray building they were standing next to.

The dear Captain walked side by side with possibly the kindest king Loki had ever seen. "Thank you again for this. I realize that this is inconvenient for you and it puts your people at risk."

"Do not worry, Captain Rogers. General Okoye and the heads of the five tribes have gotten all the civilians to safety."

"Good. _Good_ , I don't want to cause any more of a problem then I already have."

If the situation had been different and a mad Titan wasn't going to be coming who knew when, Loki would have loved to know what the dear Captain had done and what had changed him so drastically from the order following Boy Scout to this jaded, tired man. T'Challa continued, "You will have the full support of the five tribes' warriors, the Dora Milaje, and of course myself."

"And a semi-stable hundred year old man," a muscular man said walking towards them. He had long shaggy brown hair and a beard similar to Steve's. Most interesting of all, he had a metal arm that was painted black and gold.

The weary Captain smiled and stepped forward to the man. He patted him on the back. "How are you, man?"

"Oh, for the end of the world pretty good," he chuckled.

Loki softly asked Bruce, "Now who's he?"

Bruce half-glared at the trickster. "Will you stop asking the guy who has no clue what's happening either, who people are?"

"Alright, you had a more restful sleep then I did. You have no excuse for being crabby."

Wanda turned around. "His name is Bucky Barnes. He's an old war buddy to Steve."

"War buddy?"

"Yes."

"A war buddy from your second world war that the dear Captain fought in before being frozen in a block of ice for almost seventy years?"

"Yeah. He was given a serum similar to Steve's."

Huh. The humans really did continue to impress him. Just when he had thought he had seen everything that Midgard had to offer he met someone new or went to a beautiful otherworldly place like Wakanda.

 _Oh dear._

He _was_ impressed by Wakanda and he had made that bet with the dear Captain. Oh well. Guess he would just have to pay him. King T'Challa led them all into the building with its silver metal fancy interiors, Steve and this Bucky person were directly behind him catching up, while Natasha and Sam were close behind them. Rhodey had stepped up ahead and was now walking with Vision, while Wanda had stayed behind to walk with Loki and Bruce. "Hey, Bruce," he started, "Do you have ten dollars? Preferably Midgardian currency."

"What?"

"I made that bet with the dear Captain on the plane and what can I say, I'm impressed." He truly was. They were walking through shiny corridors with electric blue screens on the walls flashing white text in a language he didn't know. How could he not be impressed?

"Well, that's great, but I don't have ten dollars," Bruce said as they all walked up a series of inclined planes. They were meant to replace stairs.

"What? Oh, sure you do. You had to pay our annoying taxi driver."

"Yeah, I did with a credit card that I found in the pants pocket. I think it was that Dr. Strange's."

"Oh…Hey Wanda-"

"Here's an idea," she interrupted. "Can't you just wave your hand around and make a ten dollar bill appear?"

Loki opened his mouth and then realized how simple that was. Stars, he was not in his right mind set at all lately. He was just overthinking things. "Huh. Sometimes the easiest solution is so obvious that it is blinding." Wanda laughed at him and shook her head. They were up several stories in the building when they walked into a large and open room with a huge window looking out to the yellow fields and wooded area. There was a light gray table in the middle of the room with the same elegant craftsmanship as the rest of the city. There was a see-through screen connected to the side of the table and there were what looked like devises that could create lasers just over head. A young teenage African girl with her hair in several tiny braids was sitting in a tall spiny chair looking bored until she saw everyone enter the room.

"Ah, good! You _finally_ arrived! I thought you would never get here," she said jumping from the chair and running to the table.

T'Challa frowned. "Shuri, patience is a virtue that you would do well to learn."

The girl, Shuri, rolled her eyes. "Way to sound like an original philosopher, brother. Patience is a virtue. How did you ever come up with it?" T'Challa continued frowning and didn't answer. Shuri chuckled at her brother's sternness. "Fine. Now we shall begin. Mr. Vision, if you would," she motioned to the table.

Vision sat on the table and then laid down on it. Shuri pulled the screen closer to her and then waved her wrist over the Vision's forehead. She was wearing what appeared to be a big beaded bracelet, but when she had waved it over Vision they lit up in a blue hue. She turned her hand over and an enhanced holograph imagine of the Mind Stone and all of its internal connections to the machinery that was Vision, was projected from the beads. "It appears that the stone is directly connected to all of his internal wiring," Shuri muttered more to herself.

Bruce stepped up next to the table. "Well, yes. You see it was the only way to get the stone to effectively power him."

Shuri shook her head. "Not if you had connected each individual wire to themselves after the stone had been placed in his head for several weeks. It would have been long enough for all the other systems to have learned from each other and know how to mimic the power of the stone."

Bruce just stared at her, impressed that the girl was _this_ smart and also because he couldn't believe that he and Stark hadn't thought about that. "Well, hmm. I, uh, guess we never thought about it."

Shuri chuckled, "Yes, I see." She taped the beads to the side of the clear screen and the holograph then appeared on the screen. "I can reconnect the internal wires in his head to each other using these." She pointed at the devises overhead. "Then the stone can safely be removed. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Loki said. "Why is the child the smartest out of all of you?" And he hadn't meant out of the Wakandans or even out of the people in the room, he had meant out of all the Midgardians he had ever met.

Shuri smiled. "Believe me, I've been asking myself that same question for a long time."

T'Challa rolled his eyes at his sister and turned to the group of bald women. "Make sure the city is completely evacuated like we discussed." He turned to Steve and pointed at him. "And get this man a shield." The group nodded, half of them left the room and the other half waited for Steve. "Shuri took the time to design you a new shield in case you ever came back."

"Yeah," Shuri said examining the screen again. "The days here can be ridiculously long and boring, so I just keep updating things to make the time go faster."

" _Anyways_ ," T'Challa said, "we have your new shield and some old armor that used to belong to Mr. Stark that I thought maybe one of you would be interested in."

"Which armor is it?" Rhodey asked crossing his arms.

"I believe it was called the "Hulk Buster"."

"Hulk Buster?" Loki asked looking to Bruce.

"Well, yeah. Tony and I designed it to ah… _stabilize_ the Hulk if he ever got out-out of control."

"Over protection as Stark's biggest personality flaw. Yup, I'm seeing it now."

Bruce smirked and looked back at T'Challa. "You know, I have been having an issue with Hulk lately so maybe I could take a look at the suit."

T'Challa nodded. "Be my guest."

Bruce walked towards the other smaller group of bald women, Natasha close behind. "I'll come, too. We can continue to catch up. Rhodey you want to come?"

Rhodey shrugged. "Sure why not. Maybe together the three of us can figure out how to get Bruce into the giant piece of metal."

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Loki. "You coming?"

"Oh no. I want to see how all of this," he waved his arms around the science stuff, "works. You can go on without me."

Natasha spun around and had a, this is not a good idea, look written all over her face. What was she afraid of? Perhaps, she felt that she had to keep an eye on him since his "shadow" was now his friend. And speaking of his shadow, Wanda said, "It's all good."

Natasha let out a deep breath, shook her head, and said in a tone to try and convince herself, "Trust his rage, not him." She took in a deep breath. "Fine. Come on Bruce, let's go." Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey all turned to leave being led out by the group of bald women, but a few stayed behind to escort Steve to get his shield once he decided to leave.

And before Steve left he stepped up next to Wanda. "No matter what happens, I want you to stay by Vision's side and be ready to destroy the stone the second it comes out."

Wanda nodded, "Aye aye, Captain."

Steve chuckled and turned to leave, Sam and Bucky right behind him. Then Loki remembered the bet. "Oh, wait!" Steve stopped and turned back. Loki took a step forward and twisted his hand; a ten dollar bill appearing in a flash of green and he extended it to Steve.

Shuri exclaimed, "Whoa! That's some tech I've never seen before!" Of course, the science oriented girl would explain away his magic as a technology based phenomenon.

Bucky blinked in confusion and turned to Sam, "How _did_ he do that?"

Sam shrugged, "Well, he's a God-"

"What?"

"I'll explain later."

Steve smirked slightly and took the money from Loki. He then left with the bald women. As the group was leaving, Loki could hear Bucky say to Sam, "And here I thought I'd seen everything."

Loki called out to him, "Yeah, me too. That's why I lost the bet." Wanda chuckled. "Oh shush."

"So, what was the bet?" Shuri asked as she powered up the laser devises and checked the statistics on her screen.

"Oh it was nothing-"

"Captain Rogers said that Wakanda might just impress Loki, which he said that he very much doubted that and then the Captain bet him ten dollars that he was wrong," Vision said from where he was laying on the table. Loki and Wanda both gave Vision a look. "What?"

Loki rolled his eyes and started walking closer to the large window. "Wanda, your Vision remembers everything too well."

"It's what makes him, _him_ ," Wanda said, softly smiling at Vision.

Shuri smiled and said to Loki, "So, you are impressed by Wakanda if you gave Captain Rogers the money."

"Yes." He was now standing directly in front of the window. He could see everything from the city below, to the rocky snow caped mountains to the East. "This place has been around for years then?"

T'Challa answered, "For centuries."

 _For centuries?_

"Huh. And to think all this time I thought Midgardians were technologically challenged. Congratulations on the big break through."

T'Challa blinked a few times, not sure if that was a compliment or not. "…Thank you?"

Wanda sighed, " _Loki._ "

"What?" He turned back to face her. "It was a compliment."

"Compliments do not offend people."

"There is just no pleasing you." He walked to the tall spiny chair that Shuri had been sitting in when they had entered the room and sat down on it. Shuri was continuing to prepare for the procedure, moving the screen, enhancing the holograph imagine, and getting the lasers closer to Vision's head. Wanda stood next to Vision, holding his hand, being the good girlfriend that she was. T'Challa walked around by his sister to watch her process. Loki observed that T'Challa was quite young to be a king. He could only be about thirty or so years old. "So, do you enjoy ruling?" he asked him.

T'Challa shook his head thinking. "I spent most of my life training to be the protector of Wakanda and to one day be its king. I enjoy being with the people and protecting them is an honor that I would never give up, but the politics are a burden that I would not wish on anyone."

Loki nodded, "Understandable. Royalty is so tedious."

T'Challa chuckled in agreement. He left his sister's side and walked closer towards Loki. "I am to understand that you are the brother of Thor."

"Step-brother, but yes."

"And that Thor was the son of the ruler of your world. You must really have an understanding of the responsibility that the throne demands."

"Of course."

Wanda jumped in with, "Oh, speaking of which-"

"Don't say it," Loki said.

Wanda ignored him. "Loki spent time as the King of Asgard for a while."

"And you said it," he muttered.

"Really?" T'Challa said interested.

"Well, yeah. But let's not talk about-"

"I want to hear about it!" Shuri exclaimed, genuinely wanting to know.

Loki sighed, "What's to say? I took over when Thor got himself banished for a weekend and our fath-the king, Odin, fell into the Odinsleep."

"What's that?" Shuri asked.

"It's this period of time where he had to rest and regain all of his strength. But anyways, I took over again for a couple of years when Odin was no longer worthy of his position and-" It was then that Loki noticed that one of the tall and fierce looking bald women was still in the room off to his right, staring him down. She was dressed in, what he assumed was, a traditional warrior's uniform that was all orange and gold. Odd colors to put together. She was holding a spear like the other women had been, but unlike the other women she had some sort of tattoo on the scalp of her head. Maybe it was to single out her importance, he didn't know. All he did know was that she was staring him down with a semi-threatening stare. "Hello," he said waving at her.

She didn't answer.

T'Challa stepped closer and chuckled, "Don't mind her. General Okoye is just protective of me that is all. So, your father was not worthy of his position."

Loki turned away from the fierce woman back to the kind king. "I suppose he was worthy, I just…"

"Fathers can be difficult and complicated people," T'Challa softly said.

"Understatement of the year."

"My own was…" he trailed off, suddenly appearing sad. "Well, I think I understand how you must have felt."

Loki couldn't help but scoff at that statement. "Really? Odin literally waited until he was minutes from death to tell Thor and I that we had an older evil sister, who wanted to take over Asgard and destroy everything. You understand what that is like?"

T'Challa took in a deep breath and did not appear anything other than calm as he walked past Loki and to the large window. He stood in the same place that Loki had been in a few minutes ago and he stared out of the window in a sort of trance. "My father killed his own brother," he started, "and he knew that he had a son, but he abandoned him. Years later this boy, my cousin, came to Wakanda wanting to take it over and destroy everything."

Loki felt like a jerk. "Oh…I guess you _do_ understand." He hesitated, not really knowing what to say next. "Well, um, things must have gone okay with your cousin because you're still king."

T'Challa smiled sadly. "We prevented a worldwide onslaught but we still lost blood." Loki knew how that felt. Boy did he. "And what about your sister? All went well with that?"

"Um, sort of. In order to defeat our sister we needed to enact Ragnarok, which was this prophecy about the end of all days on Asgard. So Thor, I, and some others saved the people of Asgard just before it was completely destroyed."

T'Challa turned in surprise. Shuri exclaimed, "What?! So your planet or whatever, what? Is gone?"

"Yes. We…we were heading for Earth before Thanos came and…" He didn't want to give another account of the story that had only happened several hours ago. That had only been hours ago and it almost felt like a lifetime ago.

 _Stars, it was funny how time flew by and at the same time it just inched forward._

"Did anyone else survive the attack?" T'Challa asked.

"We managed to get most of the Asgardians into space pods and send them out into space. I assume that they all are alive, I…I just don't know where they are." It was ironic, he wasn't even an Asgardian, but if all of the people that he had helped save were lost forever, he would feel like the last of his people. _His_ people. Just like he was the last of his family.

"I'm sure they will be fine," Wanda said, as if she knew what he was thinking (she probably did). "They just need to find their way to Earth, that's all." He tried to take comfort in her words, but he couldn't shake the pessimistic feeling that his bad luck would not give him a break. The people of Asgard were essentially all he had left and if they were gone too…what else would he have? A few friends, maybe? But how long until he messed it all up like he usually seemed to do?

"The Asgardians are refugees," T'Challa stated, breaking Loki out of his dismal thoughts. "Do they have a place to go?"

"Um, ah…Thor and I never really discussed it. He just said, "Let's go to Earth" and I had so many problems with that and then…" he waved his hands around trying to find the right word but failed, "Yeah. Now we're here. Why?"

T'Challa shrugged. "You may know that Wakanda recently opened up its boarders to outsiders and if the Asgardians had nowhere else to go, I would being willing to take them all in when they arrive on Earth."

"That…that's…" Loki was speechless. T'Challa probably knew who he was and what he had done in the past and yet he was just able to move on and make such a generous offer like that. "Thank you, I don't know…what to say." T'Challa smiled at him and then something behind Loki must of caught his eye because he looked passed him. Loki turned around in his chair and saw that General Okoye was standing several feet behind him. "When did she move?" he asked no one in practical.

"When you asked King T'Challa if he could really understand how you felt about your father," Vision answered from the table.

Loki eyed the General with fascination because there were only a handful of people who could sneak up on him. She was still just staring him down. "And what are you a general of?" he asked. Again she didn't answer.

T'Challa said, "She is the General of the Dora Milaje. It is an all-female group of warriors who are bound to protect the crown."

"Does she ever speak?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"When she wants to," Okoye said in a firm tone.

Loki chuckled, "You and Valkyrie would get along wonderfully."

"Who's that?" Shuri asked.

"The Valkyrie were an all-female elite who were by far the fiercest warriors in Asgard. A woman named Brunnhilde, who just goes by the name "Valkyrie", helped Thor and I save the people of Asgard. She doesn't like me much either."

"You are correct in your assumption that we would get along," Okoye said with a smile.

Loki turned back to T'Challa. "Why do I get the feeling that she wants me to leave?"

T'Challa opened his mouth, but Okoye interrupted, "Because she does."

Loki chuckled and stood up from his chair. "Alright, fine. You probably want to talk to your king about his questionable decisions and I should go and find Bruce anyways. Put Agent Romanoff's mind at ease that I'm not going to blow something up or whatever." He nodded to T'Challa who nodded back at him.

Shuri crossed her arms disappointed. "But I thought you wanted to see how the science stuff works."

Loki walked over to the table where Wanda still stood by Vision. "You are going to use the lasers to reconnect the wires and you control the lasers by touching the holograph on the screen."

Shuri beamed and said, "You are a clever man."

"Thank you, I know." Wanda hit him on the arm. "It was a _joke_."

Wanda tilted her head to the side, not believing that but then she said, "You sure you want to leave?"

"Oh, yes. You and your Vision will be fine. I should get ready for the oncoming battle anyways. And the General keeps staring me down, so…" He stepped away from the table and Wanda. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Okay," Wanda said.

"Where did those women take Bruce and the other two?"

"The garden," T'Challa answered.

"And where's that? Never mind, I'll figure it out." And with that he left the room.

T'Challa turned to Okoye. "Do you have a problem with my decisions, General?"

"You know that man is pretty perceptive," she said in reference to Loki.

" _Okoye_."

"You wanting to help his people, I understand. But you seem to have forgotten what he himself has done."

"I have forgotten nothing, I just choose to accept all the help that is available. And what can I say, he has a quality that I can respect."

Shuri cut in with, "And he has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."

"What?" Okoye said turning to the princess.

"Yes, what?" T'Challa asked, slightly concerned.

Shuri shrugged, "He's cute." Okoye and T'Challa both shared a look. "What, he is! The tall, mysterious, anti-hero types are all the rage nowadays. And he complemented me."

T'Challa shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, Shuri."

"Oh, Shuri, what? You just said you respected him."

"Yes, but there is a difference between respecting a man and being okay with your teenage sister having a crush on that same man."

Shuri shrugged again. "I don't know. We're both royalty, we could combine kingdoms!"

T'Challa rubbed his head, feeling a headache approaching. "Oh dear." The king took a deep breath and said, "Shuri start working on removing the stone and turn all the communication systems on."

"I just did and I am ready to start working." The laser devises inched closer to Vision's forehead.

"Good. Miss Maximoff you will stay here on standby just as the Captain asked?" She nodded. "Good. General, you and I should prepare ourselves for the oncoming battle as well. Best of luck to all of us." T'Challa walked out of the room, General Okoye close on his heels.

Shuri sighed and looked down at Vision, "Okay. So you will feel some slight discomfort and this will all go better if you try not to move."

Vision nodded and glanced at Wanda and smiled. "Best of luck to us, indeed."

…

Loki hadn't gone searching for the garden where Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey were in with this Hulk Buster suit. It wasn't that he wasn't fascinated by this suit and wanted to see it or to talk with Bruce, but he just needed a minute to sit alone. To prepare himself emotionally for the battle that was going to come. No doubt some members of the Black Order would come for the stone, but possibly Thanos himself. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with seeing the mad Titan again so soon.

He wasn't sure he wouldn't do something stupid when he saw him.

Loki remembered being on their ship and Thanos grabbing Thor by the head and torturing him with Power Stone. He remembered how Thor had screamed. Was that how he had screamed when the Mind Stone was pressed to his temple? Was that how Thor had died? In blinding agony? He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't afford to get swept up in the river that was his emotions right now. But he decided that more than likely he would end up doing something stupid.

He was sitting on the marble stairs that were off to the right just outside the black and gray sleek building he had just come out of. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the steps, just trying to put his mind at ease. He wasn't doing all that well. Someone walked down the stairs next to him, it was this Bucky person. "Hello," he said as he sat down next to Loki.

"Hello," Loki said, slightly confused as to why the metal armed man was sitting next to him.

"I saw you sitting alone and I thought, we haven't officially met yet, why don't I go introduce myself. I'm Bucky Barnes."

"Yes, Wanda told me. I'm Loki."

"Nice to meet you," he said extending his left hand, his metal hand, out to shake Loki's hand.

Loki hesitated, not because of the metal hand, but because he was taken aback by Bucky's friendliness. "Uh, likewise." He shook his hand. Funny, for having a metal hand he would have expected Bucky's grip to be hard and strong, like Nebula's, but it almost felt like shaking a real flesh hand. After the hand shake, they both just kind of sat there. "So…you are a friend of the dear Captain's?"

"Yeah, Steve and I grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. Then we fought in the same regiment over in Germany."

"I see."

"Yeah." Bucky took a deep breath. "Yeah." Loki didn't know what to say. It was then that he realized that he probably had never had any friends because he wasn't a really good conversationalist. Sure, he was good at the sarcastic quips but that really didn't seem to go over very well when trying to just talk to people. "So, um, Steve told me that he was friends with a mystical man with godlike powers who was your brother and that he just died recently."

Loki blinked a few times. Maybe he wasn't the only one who had problems making conversation. "Yes, that's true." And he hated that it was.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said with genuine sympathy.

Most people who had recently lost a family member would say, "Thank you" or nod or do something _normal_ after hearing what Bucky had said. Maybe he should just do that or just shrug it off and continue pretending that Thor's death didn't affect him as much as it did. Maybe he should just continue being the God of Mischief. But he was almost tired of the facade. So, a small bit of his true grief to Thor's death and his own bewilderment to why anyone would care started to shine through.

"Do you not know who I am?" he almost snapped. "I'm the one who killed hundreds of innocent people in New York five years ago and brainwashed people. You shouldn't be offering me condolences or-or care how I am coping with this. You should be giving me dirty and suspicious looks. You should question me about whether or not you can be able to trust me."

He realized that Bucky was probably just trying to be nice, but what could he say, he just snapped a little. And he didn't understand these people, he really didn't. Why would any of them care? He didn't understand why Bruce trusted him for the most part or why Wanda would ever want to know him better or why T'Challa would open up his kingdom to his people. And now, he didn't understand why Bucky would offer him genuine condolences. He didn't deserve their trust and he knew that and yet, he also knew that it was all he wanted.

 _Stars above, I am so inconsistent._

"I'm not one to judge," Bucky said quietly. "For over sixty years, I was an assassin for an evil deranged organization called Hydra with over two hundred kills. But I'm not that person anymore and I can only assume that the only reason you're here is because you're not the person that you used to be."

Loki blinked in surprise. Had he heard him right? "So, you…you were an assassin?"

"Yeah," Bucky said with a new air of tiredness around him.

"And now you're with the Avengers?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. You see, Hydra found me and warped my mind until I forgot who I used to be. A couple years ago I went on the run and remembered my past. I was then framed for a bombing at the U.N. but Steve believed that it wasn't me and put himself on the outs with most of his friends."

Was that the explanation to why the Avengers broke up? The dear Captain had protected his friend? There had to be more to the story, but for now Loki didn't care about that. He was just fascinated with the metal armed man. Possibly the only person in the whole group, besides Wanda, who could understand what he was going through. Bucky had to understand. He was known as a killer and probably had been treated as one even after all was said and done. Because once you gain the reputation of being something horrible and evil it's almost impossible to gain back people's trust.

"This Hydra thing brainwashed you?"

"Yeah. It's such a weird thing. It's like, it's like…" He trailed off not knowing how to correctly explain himself.

"It's like you think about yourself as one thing and then all of that just goes away. And you are what they made you become. Then you wake up and you have absolutely no idea how you are supposed to cope."

Now it was Bucky's turn to blink in surprise. He turned and eyed Loki in the same way that Loki had eyed him a few moments ago, probably internally asking the same question, does he understand? "Exactly," he whispered.

Loki shrugged. "I have some experience with the whole not being in complete control of your actions thing. It wasn't for sixty years though, it was maybe just for over a year, but I know how-how…difficult that can be, so I'm sorry."

Loki wasn't sure if he was this open because befriending Wanda had made him more open in general, or if it was because Bucky could relate to the hard to explain pain of waking up and seeing things clearly after being so twisted around for so long.

Bucky sat in silence and then it seemed to dawn on him. "New York." Loki stayed quiet. "I read about it when I was trying to catch up on everything I missed during my time in Hydra. The attack in New York was the first confirmed otherworldly event, where some guy wanted to become a tyrant."

 _Tyrant, really? That was a bit harsh._

"I knew that the guy was you, I just assumed that you had changed. I didn't know that you had been-"

"Yeah, most people don't know."

"They don't-why not?"

Loki chuckled humorlessly. "I don't think they would believe me. They would just assume it was another in a long series of lies and that I was just trying to shift the blame."

Bucky sighed, "You should give the others a little more credit. I mean, they believed me. Well, most of them did anyways."

"That's true," Loki muttered. "That's probably the only reason they have trusted me thus far."

"" _Thus far"_? What are you, Shakespeare?" Bucky asked, jokingly.

"Shakespeare? He was the playwright, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Read some of his pieces. Not too bad actually."

"I could never read anything like that. Too wordy and dramatic for me."

"Have you ever read, _Frankenstein_? Now _that_ is too wordy and dramatic."

Bucky chuckled, "You know more about Earth's literature then I do and you're not even from Earth. You're from that world in Norse mythology, right? You and your brother are like similar to the Norse Gods."

"We _are_ the Norse Gods."

Bucky laughed and shook his head. "Why not? The world just keeps on gettin' crazier and crazier. Why not have gods directly from the legends? It almost makes perfect sense."

Loki half-smirked. "You're right about the world getting crazier. Particularly, this world. Every time I come here, there is a new person or group of people or something that is just fantastical and amazing. You humans never cease to impress me."

"Well, I'm glad we could impress you," Bucky mused.

They both chuckled and then sat in comfortable silence. There was some sort of mutual respect being formed out of that silence. It was like they both had found someone who understood the other. Loki had never told anyone about his time on Thanos's ship, not even Thor, and Wanda only knew because of her intrusive powers, so it was nice to know that there was someone who could relate to him. And Bucky, who had felt he was the only person in the world to have gone through these experiences, was glad to know that he was not alone.

"So, the God and the Winter Soldier are bonding?" Sam asked as he walked down the stairs and stopped before reaching where the other two men sat.

Loki rolled his eyes and glared at Sam over his shoulder. "Joy to the blessed world. And to think I thought that I could have a nice conversation with this fellow," he motioned to Bucky, "but no. Now you have to come with your annoying comments."

Sam crossed his arms and told Bucky, "According to the God, I'm the annoying one."

"I said that you were _an_ annoying one, not _the_ annoying one. Although, you are quickly becoming the annoying one."

Bucky chuckled and stood up from the stairs. "I'm sure watching you two go at it, throwing witty insults at each other would be great, but-" It was at that moment that a large triangle shaped space pod was plummeting from the sky towards the city. Loki jumped up from where he sat. Another pod from Thanos's ship. It was beginning. Just as the pod should have crashed into the city, it instead crashed into an invisible protective shield that then glowed yellowy orange after the pod was broken up from hitting the shield. Bucky looked at the shield, very much impressed. "God, I love this place."

Loki nodded. "I know, right."

Sam pointed to the East where other pods were landing outside of the shield. "Guys, don't get too happy yet. There's still a bunch of other ones over there."

"We gotta go and secure the front lines," Bucky said, glancing from Loki to Sam.

"Cap said you would say that," Sam muttered as he pulled two small ear communication devises from his pocket. He handed one to Bucky, who took it right away, and the other to Loki. "They're all-way communication radios. That way we all can stay in touch," Sam explained after Loki just stared at the little piece of plastic and metal.

"Yes, I know what they are." He took it from Sam and put it in his ear. He hadn't hesitated because he didn't know what they were, it was because he was reading into what they meant too much. To be in the loop like that, meant to be part of, well, the team. And that was just…unusual and unexpected. But again he probably was just reading too much into it.

Sam motioned his head behind him. "Come on. There's a hovercraft carrier thing back there that you two can take with Cap and the rest of the Wakandan warriors."

"And how will you be getting there?" Loki asked with a bit of a tone.

Sam smirked and put on a pair of red goggles. "By air." That jet pack that he always wore, wasn't a jet pack at all. Two extendable and metal wings burst out of the pact and Sam took off straight into the air and he flew towards the East side of the protective shield.

Loki just stared up in surprise and amazement. "Huh…"

"You impressed again?" Bucky asked smiling.

"A little bit, yes."

Bucky chuckled. "Come on, we should go and meet up with Steve and the others." Bucky almost ran up the stairs and Loki was close behind him.

Loki didn't know what was going to happen next. He didn't know whether they would somehow win against Thanos and his children or if they would all die in a blaze of glory. But he told himself that whatever happened, whether it be good or bad, he would not be alone. He would have his sort of friends by his side. And that was better than anything else in the world.

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

 _Author's Note Again: After writing an eighty page chapter last time, this almost feels too short. Oh well, the next chapter will probably be somewhere in the middle of too short and too long. So anyways, as promised Loki met the Blank Panther group and Bucky._

 _I was so disappointed when Loki died within the first two minutes of IW because I wanted him to meet Bucky. (And because you know, Loki is awesome and I didn't want to see him die for the third time.) The Bucky Loki friendship is one of those things that I never thought about before but once I did, I realized how much I wanted to see it in canon. Oh well, here's hoping for Avengers 4._

 _And also I have decided that T'Challa and Shuri are some of my favorite characters to write for. She is so bubbly and sweet and he is so straight faced and ready to give a monologue at a second's notice. In other words, it's just fun!_

 _I'm not sure when I'll be able to publish another chapter, that's why I pushed myself to get this one done, but I'll try. As always, thank you for all the lovely reviews! It is all the positive feedback that keeps me going! Hope all of you enjoy your summer. Bye!_


	6. Chapter Five

_Author's Note: And here we have the big fight chapter! So much fun to write, although I should put out a warning because this chapter seems much more bloody then I intended and I think it still falls under the rated T rating but…_

 _I'm sorry if the battle stuff is not that well done. I excel in dialogue, internal conflicts, and sarcastic comments. Not much else. So, if it is just "okay" compared to the other stuff, I'm sorry again. Anyways, enjoy!_

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 _Chapter Five: Two Gods, a Tree, and a Rabbit_

When Bucky and Loki had gone to the place where Sam had said that they could go and board some hovercraft carriers, several had already taken off towards the outskirts of the city, closer to the yellow grassed fields and the glowy protective barrier. Each one was filled to the capacity with Wakandan warriors dressed in colorful knitted outfits and armed with white small swords that were bent at a slight angle. General Okoye was directing her Dora Milaje onto a craft, while King T'Challa, who had made a wardrobe change into an almost skin tight black uniform that had a pointy silver necklace and gloves with retractable claws, was directing the rest of the warriors. Steve and Natasha were already on a semi-filled craft. Bucky didn't at all hesitate in climbing up the small ramp and joining his friends, Loki was close behind him.

The dear Captain had two large, gray and silver shields attached to his arms. They were nothing like his Frisbee American themed shield that Loki had seen before, but they were still quite interesting. Steve saw Bucky and said, "Sam gave you the ear piece?"

Before Bucky could reply, Sam said over the radio, _"Of course, I did. What kind of a question is that? When have I ever not done what was asked of me?"_

Natasha scoffed, "Do we really have time to get into that Pandora's Box?"

" _Funny,"_ Sam deadpanned.

"Guys, focus," Bruce said from behind them. Loki turned to the sound of his voice expecting to see mild mannered Bruce in his burrowed button down shirt, pants, and tennis shoes. Instead he saw a Hulk size Iron Man suit. It literally looked like one of Stark's traditional suits had been given steroids.

Loki did a double take. "What the- _Bruce?_ Are you in that thing?"

The suit's giant red and yellow helmet opened up to reveal Bruce's tiny little head. He beamed and said, "Yeah! This is pretty cool actually. It's like being the Hulk without being the Hulk!"

Loki nodded, still surprised at the enormous suit and once again, he felt the telltale feeling of being impressed. "So are there any more amazing and vastly different inventions by Stark that I should know about now, or…?"

Steve half chuckled but turned his attention back to the barrier, "Sam, Rhodey. What's going on down there?"

Sam flew along the edge of the barrier in his winged jet pack along with Rhodey in his gray Iron Man knock off suit. Rhodey answered first, _"The space ships appear to be just sitting there. No signs of life coming out of-oh wait!"_

"Wait, what?" Natasha asked, as their hovercraft's ramp closed up and the craft was started up by one of the colorfully dressed warriors. It floated about a foot and half off of the ground and then it took off in the direction that the other crafts had gone in. Bruce's helmet closed and he jogged alongside them.

Rhodey continued, _"There are two people approaching the barrier. One is a man with pointed ears and a sword."_

"Corvus Glaive," Loki muttered.

" _And the other is a pale woman with a big spear."_

"And Proxima Midnight."

" _Cap,"_ Sam started, _"those are the two that attacked Vision earlier."_

"And they're just standing by the edge of the shield?" Steve asked.

" _Yeah."_

"What are they waiting for?" Bucky said, asking the question that was on everyone's minds.

Loki knew the answer. "The members of the Black Order consider themselves merciful. They no doubt will make one attempt to try and persuade you to give over your Vision's stone and then surrender."

" _I'm not saying I want to surrender,"_ Sam said, _"but what would happen if we did?"_

Loki shrugged. "They would probably kill half of us."

Bucky, Steve, and Natasha all turned and gave him a confused look and rightfully so. Surrendering usually meant that your life and all of those fighting with you would be spared. The Black Order did not work that way. "That doesn't make sense," Bucky said.

Loki nodded. "In their twisted logic _that_ is being merciful. Besides, it helps with Thanos's goal of destroying half of all life."

Bucky shook his head. "Alright, I don't like these people."

Their hovercraft stopped before a large crowd of warriors and was turned off. The ramp was lowered and the craft was quickly unloaded. If you looked to your left or your right, you could see lines of warriors prepared for battle. The Wakandans were ready for the ultimate showdown and none of them showed any fear. T'Challa and General Okoye stood with their people as Steve, Natasha, Bucky, Loki, and Bruce in the Hulk Buster suit approached them. Bruce stayed back because of the vast amount of space he took up in the suit, but the other four went to the front and were greeted by T'Challa with a nod.

Another African man dressed in blue material and fur, carrying a wooden staff came up with hundreds of more warriors, whooping and hollering some sort of war cry. T'Challa turned to the man and smiled. "M'Baku, thank you for fighting with us."

M'Baku smiled back. "Of course, my friend. Anything for the preservation of our world."

The dear Captain told the kind king that Glaive and Midnight were waiting by the edge of the barrier and that they more than likely wanted a chance to talk them into surrendering. "Perhaps we should convince them into surrendering," T'Challa said. At the same time Loki and this M'Baku fellow scoffed. T'Challa glanced between the two of them. "Evidently, you both have a problem with this idea."

M'Baku crossed his arms. "I do not think that we should waste time going over there to be all diplomatic like."

T'Challa faced the man. "We do not know if they will or will not accept our offer until we make an effort." Perhaps it was because T'Challa was still young and was not yet completely jaded by life, but he was almost acting borderline naïve.

"As lovely a sentiment as that is," Loki interrupted, "when Bruce and I were in New York with Stark, the two Black Order members that we faced were not in a surrendering, compromising mood. I doubt that these two will be much better."

T'Challa sighed, "Thank you both for your input, but I will go and have a word with them myself. We must not be completely hasty in deciding who is good and who is bad." Or perhaps T'Challa's upbringing had opened his mind to seeing the best in people and to try and find it. If that were the case then it made sense why he was not rude or so questioning of Loki. "Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, would you care to join me?"

The dear Captain and Natasha both nodded and started walking with T'Challa across the field. "Hey Nat," Bruce called from inside the suit. Natasha turned back. "Be careful." She smiled and continued walking. Why the three were walking was beyond Loki. They should have taken one of the hovercraft carriers because from where they were all standing to the edge of the protective barrier, it was probably about one or maybe two square miles away. Oh well. He wasn't going to point it out if they couldn't figure it out for themselves.

…

"How long have those three been talking with those two psychopaths?" Loki asked, his annoyance not at all hidden. He was pacing back and forth in front of their line of people. He had pulled out one of his daggers and was twirling it over his fingers in a nervous type of way.

"Boy, he gets antsy," Bucky commented to no one in particular.

"Oh, no," Bruce said from inside his suit. "He's not antsy, he's anxious. He's not good at waiting when he doesn't know the outcomes of things."

Loki half smiled at the big ridiculous suit. "Good to know that some people listen to me when I speak." As soon as he had said that, he went right back to pacing. He really didn't understand why he was so anxious. The Black Order members were going to unleash their full arsenal, whatever that may be, and try to get the stone from the Vision's head. Great. He already knew that, so he was prepared.

Maybe he was anxious because he just wanted to get the fight started and over with and yet, at the same time he wanted to hold onto however many minutes they all had left before the bloody battle. And on top of all of that, he really _didn't_ know what was happening with the three talking with Thanos's murderous children, because their radios had been lowered in volume.

"You have fought in big battles like this before, right?" Bucky asked Loki as he continued his pacing and twirling.

"Of course."

"Besides New York?" Loki gave him an annoyed look. "Sorry. Just checking."

"I just…" He swallowed and tried again. "I don't like thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. The unknown is deafening."

Bucky nodded, understanding what it was like to go into battles where you had no way of knowing one hundred percent if your plan would work or not. But General Okoye, who was off to the left standing with her warriors, scoffed, "You worry too much."

 _She and Valkyrie would absolutely get along._

Loki nodded and pulled up a fake smile. "You're right. I mean, what is the worst thing that could happen if we lose? Oh, that's right!" Then he diverged from pretending to be understanding to being a bit of an ass. "We are either wiped from existence or slaughtered. So given these two possible outcomes, _excuse me_ for being a little anxious."

The man, M'Baku, dressed all in blue and fur let out a hearty laugh. He slapped his knee. "Oh, General, he got you there, didn't he?" He chuckled again, shaking his head. Okoye glared at the man and then turned back to staring out straight ahead of her, where her king was.

Loki glanced at M'Baku. "And who are you, exactly?"

"I am M'Baku, leader of the Jabari tribe, the mountain tribe."

"Oh, that explains all the fur."

"Well, the mountains are very icy, so…"

" _Heads up,"_ Rhodey said over the radio. _"Cap and the others are coming back."_

"It's about time," Loki muttered stepping back into his place standing next to Bucky and among the Wakandan warriors. T'Challa, Steve, and Natasha all came marching through the field back to the group. All three looked stern.

 _Guess nobody surrendered._

"Did diplomacy work?" M'Baku asked almost musingly to T'Challa when he stood back next to him.

T'Challa glanced at the man and instead addressed his people. "The two we have spoken with have refused to surrender and are planning to attack at any moment. We must hold this line of defense. We cannot let anyone get to Vision and the stone. Understand?" M'Baku, General Okoye, and the warriors all nearby nodded in understanding.

Steve and Natasha walked over to where Loki and Bucky stood. "So, how'd it go?" Bucky asked.

Natasha shrugged and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "Well, I think we kinda pissed both of them off."

Loki wanted to slap his forehead. "Why would you do that?"

"Look, it wasn't like we were planning it," Natasha said as if that justified it.

Loki shook his head. "Stars above, if I had known that _that_ was the plan, I would have come along. Pissing people off is one of my strong suits and I could have done it in half the time you three all did it in."

M'Baku laughed again. Bucky chuckled and nodded. "You are a bit annoying."

"Why, thank you," Loki said with a smirk.

"Okay," Steve said in his "enough fooling around guys" tone of voice. It was funny how many tones of voices the dear Captain had.

" _The space ships are opening up,"_ Rhodey said, gaining everyone's attention. The multiple triangle shaped pods had doors built into the lower sides of the crafts that slid up with loud clangs, that could be heard all the way where the group was standing securing the front lines.

The metal clangs reminded Loki of the sound his prison cell door made when it was shut. He could feel his right hand start to tremble at the thought of the dark and drafty stone cell. He inhaled and shook his head, almost annoyed with himself. Now was not the time to get caught up in the past. Now was the time to be ready and to focus.

Out from the space pods came spilling out hundreds of ravaged, four-armed black creatures called Outriders. They were like dogs or wolves but they had been mutated into something much worse and fierce. They all charged the protective barrier, growling and barking. Most just ran into it and bounced back, and then of course they tried again and again until they were either smothered to death by the other creatures running up behind them or managed to get partially through the shield before it closed back up and cut them in half.

It was a scary and appalling sight to see. General Okoye stared on in disbelief. "They are killing themselves."

"They're not going to get through that barrier," Natasha said. "So why are they wasting their soldiers' lives?"

"Because they do not value life," Loki muttered. He wasn't sure if anyone had heard him and he supposed that it didn't really matter.

One or two of the Outriders made it all the way through the barrier in one piece and started running across the field, but they were quickly taken care of by Rhodey's big gun on his shoulder and Sam's two hand held guns. Finally, the dumb creatures grew smart or they were ordered to try something else, because several of them ran around to the other sides of the barrier. _"They're moving!"_ Sam said as he swooped down and shot another creature twice in the head.

"We see that," Steve said and he turned worriedly to T'Challa. "We cannot let any of them go around and get behind us. If even one of them get through without our knowing it-"

"I agree Captain."

"Then what is your plan?" M'Baku asked, tightening his grip on his staff.

T'Challa pressed his fingers to his ear. "Shuri, how are you doing?"

Shuri's voice could be heard over the radio. _"I have barely just started, brother."_

"Continue what you are doing, but faster." T'Challa then spoke to a woman who was apparently somewhere near the controls to the barrier. "On my count, you will open up sector 16 of the shield."

"Hold on, what?" Loki exclaimed.

T'Challa met the trickster's confused and concern gaze. "We need to keep their attention on us. The only effective way to do this is by opening up the barrier and keeping them focused on the fight."

Loki shook his head. "So the plan is to let the scary dog things in?"

"Correct."

"…Why is this a good idea again?" T'Challa let out a deep breath and refocused on talking with the woman over the radio. At the word that the barrier would be opening up, the colorful warriors pulled out their swords, M'Baku started hollering his war cry again, General Okoye and her Dora Milaje twirled their spears to be pointed at the enemy, Natasha unholstered her two black hand guns, Bucky took the safety off of his semi-automatic machine gun, and the dear Captain did something that made his arm shields expand and three sharp metal points protrude from the ends of them. All of them were ready for the fight and what more, they didn't even question the non-existing logic of opening up the barrier that would let in everyone's death. Loki shook his head again, feeling his breath getting caught in his throat. He felt like he had when Thor told him that they needed to enact Ragnarok and he said the same thing he had said then, "This is madness."

Bucky glanced at him, perhaps catching on to his underlining fear. "You're probably right." Loki faced the metal armed man, who apparently had taken a page out of the dear Captain's bravery manual, because he never even faltered. "But the world keeps on gettin' crazier and crazier, you agreed with that. This," he motioned to the barrier and the murderous creatures that were trying to get in, "is just another weird day on Earth."

Loki half smiled. "Certainly is the weirdest, longest, and most emotionally challenging day that I have had in a while." Bucky smiled with some sort of understanding. Loki shook his head and swallowed down his doubts. "Okay. Alright. Let's do this." He motioned his left hand and conjured up another dagger so that he had a total of two. "I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?" He tried to ask that rhetorical question with a bit of optimism or irony, but to his own ears it sounded fearful and slightly weak.

"On my count," T'Challa said to the lady on the radio as well as to everyone on the front lines. "Three…two…one…" A mask of some sort materialized over T'Challa's head and face that looked like a panther's head with silver eyes. "Now!" A space about three feet wide of the barrier opened up and the Outriders came pouring onto the field. "Wakanda forever!" the king shouted.

A chorus of Wakandans shouted in agreement, "Wakanda forever!"

And then everyone started sprinting and charging towards the opened barrier. Steve, T'Challa, and Loki soon were in front of the others, reaching the massive horde before anyone else. Loki knew why he and the super soldier managed to run ahead of the rest, but he was incredibly curious as to why T'Challa had such speed to him. He either had the stamina or it was his suit giving him the abilities. But that could wait…

The dear Captain jumped over a small brook and smashed his left shield into a howling creature. T'Challa's claws sprang out and he was soon slicing them at a group of four that were trying to take him down. The second the other two had hit the creatures head on, Loki stopped running to find his vantage point. He then threw the dagger in his left hand straight for the eye socket of a fast approaching creature. The dagger multiplied into ten daggers, each one hit their target and either maimed or killed a disgusting Outrider.

By this time the rest of their army came charging in. The battle was not like most, were there was some sort of plan that was strategically formed and then executed. It was hectic and chaotic. Alien creatures with their pointed and yellowed teeth snapping at warriors dressed in ritual clothing, armed with nothing except for their swords and their cunningness, while two men flew through the sky shooting the creatures down with bullets and bombs, and a doctor with several PhD's ripped the hissing monsters apart with the mighty power of one of Stark's inventions. It was absolutely bloody insane. A creature swung his razor claws at Loki, who easily dodged it, grabbed hold onto the creature's arm, and drove a dagger through its heart.

Thor would have loved this.

All this fighting.

The oaf might have changed from a war seeking buffoon to a selfless hero, but he still had a slightly unhealthy addiction to the thrill of the fight. He _used to have_ a slightly unhealthy addiction to the thrill of the fight. Thinking about his brother in the past tense filled Loki's chest with a deadly rage and before he knew it, he was conjuring up daggers left and right and throwing them at the Outriders. There was a small and growing pile of dead, once scary dog things, all with their blood pouring out and shiny knives protruding from their necks, chests, and eye sockets. He knew that Thanos did not care horribly for these creatures' lives as he had cared about Thor's life, but anything to get back at the mad Titan…

" _Ah, guys,"_ Sam said as he flew overhead. _"I think we all need to crank up our maximum effort here."_

"Why?" Steve shouted from where he stood beating two creatures senseless.

" _Because the God is puttin' us all to shame."_

Loki chuckled with a glimmer of mischief. "I told you all that you could trust my rage."

"Point taken," Natasha said, shooting a handful of creatures at close range. Their blood splattered out, dying bits of the yellow field red. A creature grabbed Natasha's shoulder and before it could do anything else, the ex-assassin powered up her blue Taser that was around her wrist and punched the creature in the throat. The creature jolted and let out a howling pained cry. Then Natasha shot it and put it out of its misery. "Are these things still coming?" she asked, wiping her sweaty forehead before continuing with the fight.

" _Unfortunately, yes,"_ Rhodey said. He flew closer to the barrier opening, but he was still several feet in the air so no creature could jump and get him. _"Nobody go to the opening for a minute,"_ he commanded and then the big gun on his shoulder shot out what must have been small missiles, because suddenly there were massive explosions and fire balls at the opening. The explosions were so powerful that Loki could feel the heat from them all the way where he was standing, about a hundred and fifty feet away. The feat was impressive, but the smell of burning alien flesh was horrific.

Though, Loki had to give Rhodey and his suit credit; Stark had never blown anything to hell like that. "Hey, War Machine, I take back everything I said about you being an Iron Man knockoff."

" _Jeez, thanks,"_ he muttered, but Loki could tell he was happy about the compliment.

" _Alright Rhodes!"_ Sam exclaimed. _"Way to crank up the effort! Now we're on par with the God!"_

"This is not a competition!" Steve shouted.

"Although if it was," Loki said twirling two daggers in the air, preparing for the next line of creatures to reach him. "I would probably win."

"Your modesty is astounding," T'Challa called as he tackled a creature to the ground and sliced his claws over its neck.

That was the fight.

Always being seconds away from death only to somehow succeed in triumphing over a creature or group of them and then barely have a minutes break before the next murderous batch came up. The smell of fire, ash, and blood filled the air to the point that it was almost suffocating. The Avengers were holding their own quite well, but the more impressive thing was that the reclusive, never fought an alien before in their lives, Wakandan warriors were holding their own.

The warriors were good at teamwork, one distracting an Outrider while two others jumped it and slew it with their swords. The Dora Milaje and their fierce general knew how to duck and run around the four-armed creatures until they could stab their spears through them. M'Baku appeared to be well trained in the art of hand to hand combat and although it appeared that he did not have any super human strength, he got right down into the heat of the battle and took the creatures on one by one. He also bashed their heads in with his staff. And King T'Challa, the Blank Panther, was the best of them all. His reflexes were uncanny and his skills as a fighter made Loki realize that if anyone was fool enough to challenge the Wakandan Empire to a war, they would lose.

It was almost ironic. The gentle, peace seeking king was the swiftest and most deadly warrior out of all of his people. Odin's words came to mind: _"A wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be prepared for it."_ It was the first time in Loki's life that he actually saw someone embody Odin's lesson.

All of sudden the ground started to shake and there was a horrible, shrieking sound of machinery. What happened next, happened so fast that almost nobody could process what was going on. The grassy field and soft dirt began to become unearthed and rise up in several different spots along the inside of the barrier until five enormous ring shaped vehicles with metal moving razor sharp edges burst out of the ground. The fast moving edges were meant to be used to dig underneath the surface of most planet, like they had just done to get around the barrier, but when the vehicles flew through the air and touched the ground, they mowed down everything in sight. Plants, the Outriders, the poor unsuspecting Wakandan warriors who had gotten too close.

" _Son of a Bitch! What the hell are those things?"_ Sam shouted.

"Fall back! We need to fall back!" T'Challa screamed, running from the still incoming creatures and the killer vehicles. He wasn't thinking about the fight right now, he was thinking about the lives of his people. A fearful sense of panic seemed to rise through the entire army until everyone was retreating.

But Loki knew better.

There was no way that they could outrun those things and an even lesser chance that could somehow destroy them. They had Rhodey and his explosives, sure, but how many would be shredded to pieces before he had finished taking care of them? No. The answer was simple.

Loki stopped running and threw down both daggers. He raised his hands out and concentrated. All of the retreating warriors started to vanish in a flash of green. _"What are-"_ Sam started to ask before Loki interrupted.

"Teleporting everyone to safety! When it's clear, have War Machine blow these things to hell."

" _With pleasure."_

All the people in front of him were gone and he quickly turned in a circle catching everyone he saw and making sure he didn't teleport an Outrider. He could feel his strength start to dwindle, but he pushed himself until he was sure he had gotten everyone. And then when the vehicles were about ten feet away from him, he teleported as well.

He knew that he couldn't teleport that many people a far distance away and even if he could, the battle still needed to be fought. So he did the only logical thing: he teleported everyone who was in the path of the vehicles to be behind them where the death machines had already been. When Loki had teleported himself to safety he fell to the ground, completely and utterly exhausted. He wasn't the only one half sitting, half laying on the ground. Several Wakandan warriors, Dora Milaje members, and even the dear Captain all sat on the ground looking around bewildered.

"Weren't we on the other side of those things?" M'Baku asked, standing up and pointing out at the vehicles that were still driving further and further away. "How did we get over here?"

"Magic," Loki muttered. "It is not that hard of a concept. Anytime you want to blow those things up!"

" _I'm on it, get a grip,"_ Rhodey said, flying higher in the sky to look down at the circular vehicles. His gun shot out two missiles, both hitting two of the five machines. Both caught fire and started to lose control. They crashed into the sides of the field, blowing up. _"Two down, three to-"_ Corvus Glaive charged Rhodey, sprang into the air, and tackled him to the ground. _"I'm down! I'm down!"_

Natasha, T'Challa, and Steve all were running to help their friend, just as the remaining three vehicles spun around and started heading back towards them. M'Baku turned to Loki. "Quick! Do whatever you just did again!"

Loki shook his head, catching his breath. "I can't. I…" Bruce in his large suit started running towards the three approaching vehicles. "What are you doing?"

"I'll stop them!"

"Bruce, you idiot those machines will tear that suit apart along with you!"

Bruce didn't listen and in fact he started running faster. This was an absolute bloody disaster. Did Bruce think this was a good idea at all? This was a terrible idea! He was going to get himself-

 _Stars above._

This was just like what had happened when Thor sent him away. Loki had to do something, and if not him, then someone else fast before the man with breath taking anger management issues got himself killed. And thank the stars, his prayers were answered.

Wanda flew down, her red energy sparkling and crackling all around her, and landed right in front of Bruce keeping him from reaching the vehicles. Bruce screeched to a halt. Wanda flew her hands about making odd gestures as she controlled the energy, knocking two of the vehicles into each other, completely destroying them. She held her hand out, stopping the last and final vehicle. And then she did something incredible. She lifted the thing in the air, turned around, her eyes were shining brightly in a scarlet hue, and threw it at the still present horde of Outriders that were behind the shaken up army.

Wanda walked slowly towards the group, breathing deeply. The Wakandans were obviously impressed. General Okoye kept looking from Wanda to the mass destruction she had just caused, with an amazed look on her face. "Why was she up in that room this whole time?"

Wanda found Loki and started walking faster towards him. "Your timing is impeccable," Loki said, half smiling. "Also, well done with dispatching the death vehicles and taking out more of those pesky creatures."

"Thank you. Now do you need help or can you stand up by yourself?"

Loki chuckled and got himself back onto his feet, stumbling only once. "Those things are still coming."

"Then shall we?" she asked with a spark of mischief in her eye. He smirked and together they ran in the direction of the incoming Outriders. General Okoye and M'Baku hollered for the Wakandan warriors to follow and Bruce ran with them. The fight started again as if nothing had happened.

Wanda and Loki stood back to back in the heart of the madness, both quickly defeating the creatures that approached them. Wanda pulled them apart and flew them backwards with her scarlet powers while Loki continued to conjure up daggers and always hit his target. Every once in a while, a creature would get too close and Loki would form a small green shield of magic that would push the creature back so he could throw his dagger. He wasn't too sure how long he could do that anymore. The conjuring up of items never took much strength but the shields…

One practically ravaged creature almost tried to bite his arm and he couldn't seem to find the strength to form a shield. Luckily, Bucky had been around and shot the beast five times, the bullets ripped through it spattering blood on Loki and Wanda.

"Really?" she said disgustedly and shook her arms, obviously grossed out.

"Sorry," Bucky muttered, joining the two were they stood.

"Don't be," Loki said. "Thank you."

"No problem. Saw you two taking on all these things like a bunch of crazy commandos I used to know, so I thought I'd join you and watch your six." And he did. Any Outrider that they somehow overlooked or were getting too close, Bucky shot them down.

Loki wasn't sure how long the three of them had been at this, but it seemed like forever. Constantly killing to ensure that you did not get killed. Pushing yourself to the point of wanting to collapse from exhaustion. They were alive, though. That's what mattered. Rhodey flew by in his suit. _"Since nobody asked, I'll just tell you all: I'm fine."_

Loki rolled his eyes. "Aren't you in your country's protective forces? Your military? Don't they train you that in the heat of battle it is not about you?"

"Is that why we haven't had to endure your smartass comments?" Natasha yelled from where she was fighting a creature with the help of General Okoye.

"Funny, Red."

" _Please_ ," Wanda shouted, "can we focus on what is happening right now and not-?" Proxima Midnight took advantage of Wanda being slightly distracted and tackled her to the ground.

"Wanda!" Loki hollered and he started running towards her, Bucky behind him. Before either of them could reach her, a loud and monstrous cry could be heard throughout the field. For the briefest of moments, Loki thought that Bruce had changed into the Hulk, but then he still saw a red and yellow metal suit in the corner of his eye, so…?

Cull Obsidian landed in front of Loki and Bucky and swung his massive arm at them. As neither of them expected the giant gray dwarf to just come out of nowhere, they weren't able to dodge his arm. They both felt the brute force of his arm hit their midsections and throw them backwards about twenty feet. The two men hit the ground with pained cries. "Jesus…" Bucky muttered, wincing. "I think I broke something."

Loki didn't know if he had broken anything or not, he just knew that he felt dazed and breathing suddenly became very painful. The air was like fire in his lungs, but yet he was so out of breath that he needed to bring in more air. He hated that damn giant dwarf for making something as easy as breathing feel like hell. His head was pounding (of course it was) and he could just faintly taste blood in his mouth. He tried sitting up but he knew he would need a minute.

" _What the hell is that thing?"_ Rhodey called.

"Cull Obsidian," Loki muttered, holding his head with his hands.

" _Why am I not surprised that you know the scaly monster,"_ Sam muttered as he flew with Rhodey to start attacking the monster.

Loki sat up with a groan and huffed, "He was one of the two members that attacked Bruce, Stark, and I in New York, you annoying little man and I do not appreciate-" A sharp twinge of pain shut him up. He glanced down at his left side and saw three long horizontal cuts. They weren't deep and they weren't bleeding that much, but they hurt. A lot. "Damn Obsidian and his obnoxiously long fingernails."

"What did you just say?" Natasha asked, confused. Loki glanced over at the blonde and saw her and General Okoye helping Wanda fight Midnight. He let out a sigh of relief. Wanda was still alive. Obsidian swung his arms at Rhodey and Sam, getting them away from him for a moment and that's when he spotted Loki. His face scrunched up into a scowl. Apparently he was still mad about being stabbed with those two daggers in New York.

 _Damn._

Obsidian started staking closer. "Oh great…" Loki muttered.

" _What? "Oh great" what?"_ T'Challa questioned, from wherever he was at.

Loki held his right hand over his painful wound and got to his feet, but stayed low. He clenched his left hand and prepared himself for what he knew would happen next. "Um, if anyone wants to help me that would be wonderful, but if not then please just move out of the way when I say so."

"Wha-?" Bucky started to say, but then Loki took off running in the opposite direction.

He didn't look back, but he could hear Obsidian's furious roar and loud stomps of him running behind him.

 _Don't look back, don't look back._

He sprinted past Wakandan warriors who all either shouted in surprise and then jumped out of the way or just froze up. When they were in his way he would harshly shout, "Get out of the way!" That usually worked. Obsidian's thunderous steps were gaining on him.

 _Don't look back, don't look back._

Obsidian's roar sounded like it was only feet away. Loki glanced over his shoulder. The monster _was_ only feet away.

 _You looked back you idiot!_

Obsidian's arm hit him again, this time in the upper back, tossing him to the side. He landed on his shoulder and rolled a few times until he was able to stop himself. Breathing was possibly the worst thing in the world right now. Adrenaline had been on his side, as he did not feel the pain of the cuts, although they were bleeding through his black and green coat because he had been running like a mad man, pumping his blood faster then what was recommended when you are injured. He was panting when Obsidian reached him; the giant was hovering over him just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Well, if this was how it was going to end, at least he had made some friends for the first time in his life. Loki truly was grateful for being able to say that he had friends, or partial friends, but the fact was he did think so little of himself that he never thought that any of them would go out of their way to save him. Fortunately for him, he was wrong. Obsidian raised his hand over his head, ready to strike when Bruce in the Hulk Buster suit came running over and tackled him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Bruce said punching the dwarf repeatedly in the face.

Loki knew that he should do something or at least attempt to try and help Bruce with Obsidian, but he was so winded and so drained that he just sat there watching in amazement as Bruce held his own against the giant dwarf. It was incredible. Bruce in that suit was just as powerful as the Hulk and quite possibly even more powerful because he had one thing the Hulk never had: His mind. Hulk was at times just a dumb brute, but Bruce Banner was definitely one of the smartest people Loki had ever met. Obsidian smashed his fist against the suit's helmet, but Bruce kept going, never ceasing. Obsidian roared, growing tired of this and knocked Bruce off of him. He grabbed the suit's mechanical arms trying to pin Bruce down, but Bruce was faster and grabbed onto Obsidian's hand. The mechanical hand latched on tight to Obsidian, detached itself from the suit, and two repulsor beams sent the hand skyward, along with the struggling Obsidian. "See ya!" Bruce shouted.

Obsidian and the suit's hand crashed into the top of the protective barrier head on and then they kept going along the edge of it, slowly killing Obsidian and breaking up the giant metal hand. A spark from the broken machinery caused the hand to ignite and then explode along with Obsidian. Thank the stars, nobody was sitting underneath the stream of fire and burnt bits of dwarf that rained down.

Bruce, in the now one handed suit, turned to the still panting Loki. "You okay?"

Loki nodded. "Yeah…Been better. Been a lot…worse though." He got to his feet again, but when he stood straight up he felt that twinge of intense pain in his side again. He held his hand over the bleeding wound again.

"Oh man, you're hurt," Bruce said, concern filling his voice.

"It's really not that bad." Loki glanced away from the man in the big suit back to the field that was still swamped with those damn Outriders. "We are going to lose this battle." He hadn't meant to say that out loud, it just sort of slipped out. What other conclusion could he come to? The Outriders were still coming, the army was being pushed to the point of exhaustion, and it wasn't like anyone was going to show up at the last minute, making a big dramatic entrance, and turn the fight to their favor.

About fifteen creatures ran up behind Bruce knocking him to the ground, biting and ripping at his suit. Loki tried running to help, but several creatures were soon after him. He threw a dagger at one hitting it in the neck, but then they were all encircling him so he couldn't escape. If he had been not as weak as he was right now, he might have been able to jump from enemy to enemy and quickly take care of them. However…One of the creatures grabbed his arm and threw him back to the ground. They were surrounding him again and at any moment they would jump him. He conjured up a dagger. He would take as many of them with him as he could.

But before any of them could even move, a Bifrost white and rainbow light beam shot down from the sky and landed in the middle of the ever present battle. Out of the Bifrost came flying a large wooden handled axe through the air, knocking into clusters of Outriders that had been trying to take down the Wakandan warriors and the Avengers. The axe ricocheted like a boomerang until it hit all the creatures that were still attacking Bruce and all the creatures that were around Loki.

Well this was a turn of events.

Maybe he had been wrong, maybe someone would show up all dramatic like and rescue them from failure. But who was it and how did they get here via Bifrost when-

The axe flew back into the Bifrost light, just as the light disappeared revealing Thor in his traditional Asgardian armor and his flowing red cape, holding the giant axe. Loki's mouth dropped open.

 _Stars above, he's alive._

Loki felt as if his heart had just stopped from shock. It was a good, unbelievable shock. Thor was alive and here, in Wakanda. All the hows and whys did not matter, they didn't even cross Loki's mind. All he knew was that his brother was alive and he didn't know if he would start laughing or crying.

Bruce's helmet opened up, he laughed and called out to the Outriders and any other Black Order member that was out there, "You're all screwed now!" Thor ran to the center of the field where there was still a large amount of creatures. He jumped slash flew in the air. Dark clouds rolled in and thunder boomed in the distance. Lightning started dancing across the sky and forming around Thor and his new weapon. Thor landed to the ground, smashing his axe to the ground. Lightning shot out in all directions from Thor and from the sky, frying the creatures.

Thor stood to full height, started running towards the opening in the barrier where the Outriders were still pouring in, and shouted out, "Bring me, Thanos!"

Loki smirked, feeling some sense of being proud. "That bloody showoff," he muttered happily. He had a newfound strength that he was not about to waste. So he got back to his feet and ran into the heart of the battle.

" _So, is that…?"_ Bucky asked over the radio.

"That's Thor," Loki said panting as he ran. "I must be rubbing off on him. Talk about a dramatic entrance!"

" _We gotta win this thing now, right?"_ Sam called as he flew across the field. _"I mean, we got two Gods on our side now!"_

Any conversation that transpired after that, Loki did not hear. He was too focused on making his feet run faster towards Thor. A creature jumped at him and he easily threw a dagger into its eye. Then he finally made it where his brother stood swinging his axe, offing the creatures who were foolish enough to challenge the mighty Thor.

"Thor!" he called out. Thor turned around. All the signs of injury that he had had on their little port ship after Thanos's attack were gone, in fact, he looked stronger than ever. Thor's _eyes_ shown with relief and a glimmer of joy when he saw Loki.

"Loki." He had never thought he would hear Thor's deep voice say his name again.

It would have been nice if their reunion hadn't been in the middle of a bloody battle, then Loki might have requested that hug he never had gotten. But instead he threw two daggers at two fast approaching creatures and Thor threw his axe splitting a handful of creatures down the middle.

"You're alive," Loki stated, knowing that he was pointing out the obvious.

"Well, of course I'm alive," Thor said, turning back to focus on the fight. That was a good idea. They could catch up while they fought. "But you're alive!"

Despite how happy he was that Thor was alive, he still couldn't stand Thor's usual dumb statements. "No kidding! You sent me away like an oaf, of course _I'm_ alive. I thought you were dead!"

Thor chuckled, "You should know better than most, brother. It will take a whole lot more than some world conquering mad man to kill me."

"Don't act like this is a joke, I was mourning you!" Loki shouted, remembering all the internal pain he had felt when he thought that Thor was gone forever and he truly was alone.

"Hey, I was mourning you for almost four years!"

 _He has a point._

"…Call it even?"

Loki didn't see Thor roll his eyes but he practically heard it in his tone of voice. "Sure, Loki. Sure. Now are you done yelling at me?"

"Not quite."

"Then give me a second." Thor threw his axe and it flew around like it had when he had arrived, knocking and killing whole groups of creatures. Thor turned around, facing Loki again. "Okay, continue."

"Thank you. Now-Wait…" He had noticed that Thor had both his eyes, but it just had sunk in that that was not right. "How did you get another eye?" It was also the first time he noticed that Thor hadn't come to Wakanda alone. He had come with what looked like a walking tree and a clothed raccoon.

At the same time that Loki had made the connection that Thor had two eyes, Thor made the connection that Loki was wounded. "You're bleeding," he said pointing to Loki's reddened side.

Loki shrugged it off. "It's nothing to worry about." Thor's concerned look didn't go away. "Seriously, Thor, it's fine. Just, tell me how you ended up with your eye back."

Thor motioned to the raccoon. "The rabbit had a spare one, so…"

"Okay, first of all, that's a raccoon not a rabbit and second of all, _why_ is there a raccoon?"

And then much to Loki's surprise, the raccoon answered, "Because your pirate angel brother said there was a fight and I want to kill some guys!" The raccoon pulled out a big gun and started shooting like crazy at the groups of Outriders. The tree thing punched a few of the Outriders that got too close with his branch arms and when they broke off, they quickly grew back.

Loki shook his head. "You've been busy I see."

Thor caught his axe when it came back to him. "Yes. It's a long and fantastical tale that I plan on telling once we kill Thanos once and for all. And how was your day, brother? Good I'm assuming?"

"Funny." Loki and Thor went about dispatching any and all of the creatures that came their way. "We'll have to compare stories later," Loki said dodging a creature's punch. "And decide who had a more impressive and stress filled day."

Thor almost scoffed, "I traveled through the cosmos to get my axe and felt the full power of a star!"

"Yeah, well I assembled the bloody Avengers!" Loki said it as if it were a Badge of Honor.

"Rather horribly too," Wanda muttered flying down next to the brothers and threw out a burst of her red energy towards the creatures.

"I know her," Thor said pointing at Wanda. "She is that Maximoff girl."

Loki nodded and watched Wanda take down the horde of Outriders with a wave of her hands. "Yes and she honestly makes a much better sister then Hela ever would have." Wanda heard that, glanced over shoulder at Loki, and smiled.

"Speaking of her," Thor said, "this is just like battling Hela and her minions all over again, don't you think brother?"

"You and I remember that battle very differently, which leads me to believe you have a memory problem considering that was only four days ago!"

"The stakes were the same!" Thor retorted back.

"Fine! But everything else was different, unless you think that fighting glowing green undead soldiers and our sister is the same as fighting Thanos's children and disgusting four-armed creatures!"

"Why must you argue with everything I say?"

"Because almost everything that comes out of your mouth is idiotic." They were back to their old bickering ways. Stars, it felt good.

"You two have issues," the raccoon said from where he stood still shooting his gun.

"Obviously!" Loki yelled. "You've seen my brother, the heroic idiot. Then you have me, the God of Mischief. And we both had the most manipulative, secretive father in all of the nine realms. _Of course_ , we have issues!"

"As much as I love the ensuing family drama," Sam said landing down next to them, his wings retracting back into his pact. "We need to focus." He helped the raccoon with shooting down the creatures for a while.

"He's right," the dear Captain said, tackling a creature nearby. He wearily stood up and said, "Sam, go help Natasha and T'Challa on the other side of the field." Sam nodded and took off in the air again. Steve turned to Thor. "Good to have you back. New haircut?"

Thor chuckled, "Yes and I see you copied my beard." The tree creature punched one of his branch arms through two Outriders, impaling them. He lifted them into the air. Loki and Steve both stared on in amazement. "Oh, allow me to introduce a new friend of mine." Thor pointed to the tree thing. "Tree."

The tree turned to Steve and Loki and said, "I am Groot."

Steve pointed to himself. "I am Steve Rogers."

Loki rubbed his head with both hands. "I am totally over this day."

Thor laughed and his eyes gleamed happily. "It has certainly been one of the longest days, hasn't it?" Loki scoffed, shaking his head at the obvious statement. "But I wouldn't worry about it, brother. I believe everything will turn out alright."

Loki conjured up two more daggers and prepared himself for the next line of Outriders. "The last time you said that, this whole bloody mess started."

Thor grabbed Loki's shoulder. Loki turned to him and met Thor's blue eyes. It was surprising that the prosthetic perfectly matched Thor's natural hue. "We are going to get through this. Together." Loki could feel his chest start to swell up. He truly wanted to believe that and after hearing the confidence Thor had spoken with, he did believe it. They could win this thing. His smile started out small and ended up growing into a beam.

Then annoying Sam ruined the moment and brought Loki back to the present situation. _"We have a Vision problem."_

"Where are you?" Steve asked, pressing his right hand to his ear.

" _Over in the wooded area, near the start of the brook."_

"I'm on my way," Bruce said and he took off running towards the patch of trees.

"Me too," Steve said. He glanced at Loki. "I could use a hand."

The fact that the dear Captain not only wanted his help, but was requesting his help, took Loki aback. What was he to say to that? He couldn't possibly leave Thor. "Go," Thor said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. "I've got this completely under control."

"I, uh…" Thor eyed him expectedly. Loki exhaled. "Fine. Just…don't do anything stupid like getting yourself killed. I don't want to go through that again." He tried to mask his worry for leaving his brother with an underlining bit of sass, but Thor could easily see through his facade.

"I'll be okay, now go." Thor let go of his shoulder and turned back to finish off the remaining Outriders with his newfound friends: the talking raccoon and Groot.

Loki hesitated one second more and then turned to Steve. "Alright, let's save the Vision." Steve started to run in the direction that Sam had told them to go, but Loki stopped him. "I think I have strength enough to get us there faster than running." He flicked his hand and he and Steve both teleported in a flash of green to the middle of the wooded area.

Over to the right, near the streaming brook and under a large patch of trees, Vision was battling with Corvus Glaive. Vision still had the Mind Stone in his forehead and he had a new wound, a large gash across his left shoulder. Wires and other materials could be seen from the opened wound. Despite the Vision's impressive strength, Glaive was winning the fight. He threw Vision against a thick trunked tree and took out a long, sharp metal contraption to pry the stone from Vision's head.

Loki threw a dagger that pierced Glaive's hand and he dropped the contraption with a cry of pain and surprise. Steve took off charging towards Glaive and yelled, "Loki, get Vision out of here!"

"But what about-?"

"Just do it!" Steve tackled Glaive and the two of them rolled down a slight incline. Loki sighed. The dear Captain was just as bad as his brother when it came to not worrying about himself. Oh well. He ran over to the injured and panting android.

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down next to him.

Vision shook his head slightly, holding his hand over his shoulder wound. "I have felt better." He glanced in the direction that Steve and Glaive had fallen. "We must help Captain Rogers." He tried to stand and go where Steve was, but Loki grabbed his arm.

"Oh, no. You have to get out of here and go back to Shuri, right now." Loki basically dragged the android away from the area where the other two were still punching it out. He got them both to a safer place, an opening with little to no trees. He let go of Vision and the android sat down to rest, probably still reeling from the pain in his shoulder. Loki felt his own wound; it was still bleeding, but not that much. "Just give me a moment. I can teleport us back to Shuri's lab, I just…need a minute." If he kept this up, he wouldn't be surprised if he collapsed from exhaustion by the end of this thing.

"That man is a fierce opponent," Vision said in reference to Glaive.

"I know."

"He was the one who injured me before we all arrived at the Avengers headquarters. I worry for Captain Rogers."

"The dear Captain is a fierce opponent too, you know."

Vision glanced down at the ground sadly. "I know, however I feel that he may not be able to defeat that man. And you know what that would mean?" He looked back up and met Loki's gaze. "It would mean that he sacrificed his life for mine."

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Vision took a deep breath and remained quiet.

 _Well, that's a yes._

Loki sighed almost irritated. " _Fine._ Bruce? Sam? Anybody out there?"

" _I'm almost there,"_ Bruce said.

Loki nodded seeing the large red and yellow suit coming their way. "Good. Make sure the Vision doesn't do anything that he or any of us will regret." He turned and started to jog back where they had left Steve and Glaive.

"Where are you going?" Vision called.

"To do something that I may regret." His magic had taken its toll on him and almost all of his energy was gone. He couldn't just attack the pointy eared bastard head on without a plan of some sort. He made it back to the thick trunked tree and saw Steve on his back being beaten by the vicious Glaive. He needed to think and fast. Then he saw the contraption that Glaive had tried to use on Vision. Loki quickly picked it up and ran down the incline. Glaive unsheaved his double edged sword but before he could make a move to stab the dear Captain, Loki ran up behind him and drove the sharp end of the metal contraption through his back. Glaive died almost instantly after.

 _Good riddance._

Loki threw the contraption and the impaled Glaive off to the side. Steve had several cuts on his face and a bloody nose. He looked up at Loki obviously surprised. Loki nodded weakly. "Yeah, I know. Shocked me too, but Vision wouldn't stop talking about going back so…so, what was it you said? You don't trade lives?"

Steve scoffed lightly. "Vision alright?"

"As much as can be expected." He offered his hand, the one that wasn't covered in his own blood, to the Captain. Steve took it and Loki pulled the weary soldier to his feet. "We should get Vision back to Shuri."

"Yes and thank you."

Loki half smiled. "You would have done the same, Captain."

"Maybe."

When they both made it back to the little clearing, Bruce, Sam, T'Challa, and Wanda were all there. The three men had come to help fight but it was obvious that Wanda had come to make sure her Vision was okay. She was kneeling down next to him, her hand over his hand that was covering his shoulder wound.

Suddenly, Loki realized how eerily quiet it had become. There was still the faint sound of the Wakandan warriors and whoever else was left on the battlefield fighting the Outriders, but it was like everything besides that just stopped. There was no sound of birds or the wind or anything. To Loki, the air was becoming thicker and thicker and he had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"We may have a problem," he muttered, taking note that both of his hands were starting to shake.

"What is the-?" Steve started to ask, but just as he did Vision let out a painful scream and clutched at his forehead.

"Vision!" Wanda yelled, still at his side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Vision took several deep breaths before answering her. "He's coming. Thanos. He's coming. I can feel it."

"That's the problem," Loki muttered again.

Vision turned to Wanda, his eyes filled with desperation. "Wanda, you have to destroy the stone now."

"No, I will not-"

"There is no time to argue."

"You're right," Steve said. "This is no time to argue. You and Wanda have to get out of here, now."

"Captain-" Vision started but Steve was already moving on to the next thing.

He spoke over the radio, "If anyone is not busy or needed on the field, we need you here in the wooded area."

" _Roger that,"_ Rhodey said.

" _Be there in a second,"_ Bucky said.

Steve turned back to Vision and Wanda. "Go," he said with an amount of force and sternness that Loki had never heard him use before. Wanda stood up, but Vision stayed seated and shook his head. Apparently that was another qualification for being an Avenger: stubbornness and always trying to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.

It was obvious that nobody was going to back down. Vision wasn't going to leave, Wanda wasn't going to destroy the stone, the dear Captain wasn't going to command Wanda to destroy the stone. Loki took a deep breath and he concentrated on what he needed to do. After this, there would be no magic using, except for conjuring, for the rest of the battle. He raised both hands out in front of him: a light jade green shield passed over Vision and Wanda and then they disappeared.

"What the-did you teleport them?" Sam asked, walking over to where the two had been a second ago.

"No and I wouldn't get too close. Because they are-" Sam tripped over air and landed flat on his face. "…They are still here. I just cloaked them. They can be neither seen nor heard."

"That is so cool," Bruce said from inside the suit.

"How long will it last?" T'Challa asked, helping the embarrassed Sam up.

"As long as I can concentrate on it."

Steve nodded. "Okay, new plan." He looked at the empty area where Wanda and Vision were cloaked. "Wanda, Vision, I leave the decision up between you two. Either you run or you destroy the stone." He turned to Loki. "You need to stay hidden and out of the way and only focus on keeping them invisible." Loki had a few problems with that but he nodded in agreement. "The rest of us take on Thanos and keep him busy."

"For however short a time as you can," Loki added pessimistically.

Rhodey landed a few feet away from where everyone else stood, Bucky came running through the trees and then slowed down when he saw the group, General Okoye came marching in with her spear at her side, and following her was the talking raccoon and Groot. "So, where is this terrible monster man that I've heard so much about?" the raccoon asked reloading his large gun, far too large for a little woodland creature to be handling.

Loki walked from the group and leaned up against a tree across from the area where Wanda and Vision were still at. He knew that they were still there, because if they had moved he would have felt it become harder to concentrate on keeping the cloaking field that he had projected up. No doubt Vision was trying to convince Wanda to destroy the stone again and Wanda was trying to-

Maybe about twenty feet away from where they all stood, a light blue portal opened up and out of it walked Thanos, standing strong and tall. Loki jumped behind the tree he had been leaning against to stay out of sight like Steve had ordered. Loki could feel the dreaded fear rise up in him but he tried to keep calm. "There's your monster," he said softly, perhaps too softly for anyone to hear, but they got the message.

Everyone charged at once heading towards the mad Titan who had all the Infinity Stones gleaming on his Gauntlet except for the Vision's. They were no match for him. Bruce in his Hulk Buster suit was tossed aside like a toy. Thanos clenched his fist, the red Reality Stone glowing brightly, and Bruce was no longer solid as he passed through trees. It was only when he hit the ground that he became solid again. Thanos waved his Gauntlet around and both Sam and Rhodey fell to the ground, Sam's pact and Rhodey's suit were both disabled. Bucky, T'Challa, and General Okoye didn't even make it up to Thanos before they were all thrown back twenty feet. Groot ran forward, the raccoon perched on his shoulder. Groot punched his branch limbs out, but Thanos easily grabbed both of them and yanked him and the raccoon to him and then he threw them both behind him. The dear Captain was the only one who made it all the way up to Thanos, who attempted to punch him down, but Steve caught his fist and held it back with all his might. It was an impressive feat to be sure, to see a mere mortal hold back someone like Thanos, but it did not last long. Thanos hit Steve with his free hand and Steve fell to the ground unconscious.

The Avengers were down.

Thanos calmly walked away from the knocked out or slightly injured group of heroes and headed towards where Vision and Wanda were still cloaked and where Loki was hidden. Loki had to desperately try to keep his breathing normal, he didn't want to give himself away. Thanos's soulless eyes gazed around and seemed slightly confused. Thanos muttered to himself, "I sense the stone and yet, there is nothing." He turned and was now facing Vision and Wanda head on and his back was to Loki.

The thought entered Loki's mind in a heartbeat and before he could even begin to think of all the ways that this could go wrong, he had conjured up one more dagger. He would fail, but he had to try. He couldn't just sit by, so close to the man who had overseen his daily torture, who had messed with his mind, who had attacked his and Thor's people, and do nothing.

Thanos muttered to himself again, "But they would not have had a small army waiting for me if the stone was not nearby. It makes me wonder…"

Loki silently stepped out from behind the tree, carefully watching where he stepped.

He did not want to step on a branch and give himself away.

The walk was slow.

There was no need to rush.

He stepped cautiously.

He was almost there.

Loki tightened his grip on his dagger and raised his hand over his head.

He was so close.

"I wonder, how long do your illusions last, Asgardian?"

Just as Loki was swinging his arm down to stab Thanos in the back, his arm was frozen by a ring of blue power. He quickly tried to retreat, but his arm was stuck in midair and he was stuck there too. Thanos slowly turned around, an almost pleased smile on his lips. Loki was terrified but he refused to show it, so he just glared up at the Titan. Thanos reached for Loki's frozen arm and wrapped his large fingers around his wrist and forearm. The blue power disappeared and he continued speaking.

"I have often wondered how the whole art of magic works." He started to bend Loki's arm back until Loki gasped in pain and let go of the dagger. Thanos smiled slightly again, amused. "Does it last till you grow tired? Till you are knocked unconscious? Till your death?" Thanos's free hand, the one that wore the Infinity Gauntlet, suddenly moved up and closed itself around Loki's neck.

Loki started panicking.

 _Oh Stars, I'm going to die._

Thanos let go of his arm and slowly raised Loki off the ground. Loki desperately tried to pry Thanos's hand off of him, but it was pointless. Thanos's fingers just squeezed tighter. It was getting harder and harder to breath; the breaths came in pained gasps. Tears came to Loki's eyes and he couldn't think to hold them back. But despite everything, he held fast onto the magic keeping Wanda and Vision cloaked. He would not let go of it. Thanos would just have to kill him.

For the first time since this whole mess started and Thor had sent him away, he understood why Thor had sent him away. Oh, he understood _why_ , it was to protect him, but he understood the feeling you have when you do not care about what happens to yourself because all that matters is someone else. He had felt that with Thor of course, but…now he felt it with other people. _His friends._

He wouldn't let Thanos think he had the last laugh. With the few breaths he had left, Loki whispered, "You…will never be…a god." Thanos's smug look vanished and his eyes gleamed dangerously. His grip tightened even more, if that was even possible.

He couldn't breathe.

There was no more air coming into his lungs and he…everything was starting to…the pain in his chest was unbearable…air, he needed air…this certainly was the…worst way to…die…

Loki's vision started to blur in and out and his grip on Thanos's hand began to become slack. The cloak started to disappear. Wanda was standing in front of Vision, her red energy coming from both her hands, directly hitting the Mind Stone. Wanda was a teary eyed mess. Not only was she being forced to destroy the stone and therefore Vision, but she had to watch as Thanos attempted to choke the life out of Loki. Thanos half chuckled, seeing the cloak vanish. "I guess I no longer have a need for you, Asgardian."

Thanos was seconds away from completely crushing Loki's neck, but before he could someone fired a gun and hit him in the shoulder. A small burst of blood sprayed out and Thanos yelled out, more in frustration then in pain. A woman shouted, "Put him down, right now!"

 _Wait…Natasha?_

Loki couldn't turn his head to see but he could have sworn that that sounded like Natasha. Thanos looked to his right and glared at whoever the woman was who shot him. "You want him? Take him!" Thanos tossed Loki off in the direction of the woman and only two clear thoughts made it into Loki's mind. The first was air, blessed air and the second was that he was going to knock into whoever his savoir was.

And he did. He crashed into Natasha and they both landed on the ground hard. He was flat on his back, just trying to fill his pained lungs with all the air he had been denied. His entire neck was sore and starting to bruise but mostly it was his throat that hurt him. Natasha was next to him, getting on her hands and knees to prepare herself to get back up and fight the mad Titan. He looked over at the blonde ex-assassin with confusion and mild curiosity. "Red?" he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper and then he went into a burst of coughing.

Natasha glanced down at him and patted his shoulder, trying to be comforting. "Just breathe." Loki did and he did not ask any more questions, but he still eyed her not understanding why she had saved him when she went out of her way to make it crystal clear that she would not save him. Natasha must have read his confusion. "Don't make me regret it." There was a new air between them now. They couldn't just go back to when she had distrusted him or to when he had constantly made jabs at her. She had saved his life and he owed her. But what that meant for them moving on would have to wait.

Several feet from where they were, among the trees and tall grass, back in the clearing there was an explosion. A small concentrated one, but it had been loud and it still had kicked up the dust like explosions usually do.

 _Vision._

"Stay here," Natasha whispered, drawling her gun and slowly creeping away.

Loki was less than useless in his current state. No more magic using, his strength was drained, and even if he could stand he doubted that he would get two feet away before going into another coughing fit. He just stayed focused on breathing. "Loki," someone whispered. He glanced in the direction that the voice had come from. It was Bucky, looking disheveled. He quickly walked over to the fallen trickster and knelt down next to him. "Ah, man," he muttered giving Loki the once over. "That is a nasty bruise."

"Yeah, I-" He started coughing again.

"Don't strain yourself."

At the same time they both heard Wanda scream, "No!" Loki was quickly trying to sit up but Bucky held him back.

"Whoa, man, whoa. Just take a breath."

"We have to…help."

Bucky nodded. "Fine. I'll go and-"

"I'm going." Despite how terrible he sounded, Loki still managed to have a bite in his tone that said there is no arguing, I'm coming too. Bucky sighed and pulled him to his feet. He kept his arm around him to support him and keep him on his feet. Normally Loki would have argued against that, stating that he could stand on his own, but given that basically everything hurt he was grateful.

They walked for a few moments, past thick trees until they came back to the clearing, where Natasha and Wanda both looked to be unconscious, Vision, who hadn't been destroyed, was discarded to the side, and Thanos stood triumph with the glowing Mind Stone in his palm. In one quick motion, Thanos had place the last stone in the last spot on his Infinity Gauntlet. The Gauntlet glowed to life, rainbow light streaming off of it onto Thanos, who grimaced from the strong power surge that flowed through his body.

They had to do-storm clouds started growing darker and rumbling louder. And then there was several flashes of lightning. Thor flew in, determined to be the last minute hero. Before Thanos could do anything, whether it be throw Thor to the side or snap his fingers, Thor had made it up to him and had dug his axe into Thanos's chest. Thanos cried out and fell to one knee. Loki had never see the mad Titan in such pain before and he realized how happy it made him feel. Thor now stood triumph and slowly pressed the axe in deeper still. Thanos winced and yelled again in agony. Thor shook his head at Thanos. "I told you, you will die for everything you have done."

Loki thought that he was going to laugh. Was it possible? Was it over and done? Had they really done-? Thanos weakly shook his head and slightly smirked. "You should have gone for the head."

All the fear came pouring back and Loki knew what was going to happen before Thor put the pieces together. Thor's eyes gleamed with confusion and then worry. "Wait, what do you-?"

Thanos raised the hand wearing the Gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

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 _Author's Note Again: So…I never want to see the words "creature" or "Outrider" ever again. Every time I turned around it seemed like I was using one or both of those words._

 _But anyways…_

 _The beginning of the next chapter will be the last part of the story that is directly based off of IW, then I go into my own version of how things might go down in Avengers 4. Originally I thought I would just do everything leading up to this chapter and then stop, but you people really seem to like this thing so, I'll continue it._

 _There was no way I could write this story without doing a version of the opening sequence with Loki and Thanos. And as pissed off as I was that they killed Loki in the movie (or did they?) the scene was heartbreaking, so obviously because I am a heartless fan who likes to watch my favorite characters suffer, I loved it. I didn't love that Loki died but I think you get the picture._

 _If you're wondering about Loki's wound that started bleeding only after he ran, that is a real thing that happens. Like seriously, if you ever have a cut that is more than a paper cut or a skinned knee or something minor like that, Do Not Run or do anything crazy physical like that. My mom once cut her leg open when she was a child and ran like crazy to get her parents and it bled everywhere. Everywhere._

 _So, tell me what you thought. Did you enjoy it? Did you like the epic battle that was written poorly? Did you like the Thor and Loki reunion? Did you like Natasha saving Loki? What was your favorite part? Okay, that's enough questions. Thank you all for you lovely reviews as always! I enjoy them so much! Thanks for reading. See ya later!_


	7. Chapter Six

_Author's Note: I think it is safe to say that canonically, Loki has some self-esteem issues and all that he truly wants is some love and acceptance. I would go so far to say that he also has a guilt complex. Why do I bring this up? Because I plan on exploring it more in this chapter._

 _Also, nobody hit me because I'm making everyone suffer a little, especially Loki. And also I'm going on vacation so I won't be able to publish for a while._

 _Please don't hit me! Enjoy the chapter…?_

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 _Chapter Six: I'm Here, but I Don't Want to Be_

What had just happened, could not have just happened.

And yet, there was Thanos, still down on one knee, wincing from the pain of Thor's axe deep in his chest, looking slightly smug proving that it had happened. He had snapped his fingers. The Infinity Gauntlet had become burnt and cracked in places along where the stones were placed. After all of that intense amount of power that had surged through the Gauntlet, it was amazing that the whole thing hadn't broken into a million little pieces of gold metal.

Thor shouted again, "What did you just do?" Thanos didn't answer. He just smiled and eyed Thor with the same look an overbearing parent does when glancing at an annoying child. Then he formed another blue portal behind him and disappeared through it, Thor's bloodied axe fell to the ground with a soft thump.

It had become eerily quiet just before Thanos had arrived, but now it was worse. Now there was an anxious, static feeling in the air accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dread. It had become a waiting game. How long till Thanos's action took effect? The dear Captain slowly stumbled into the clearing, his face still covered in blood from his resent encounter with Corvus Glaive. He met eyes with Thor, who was standing where Thanos had been a second ago looking lost. Then he met eyes with Bucky, who still was holding up the completely drained Loki. Thor saw Steve's gaze shift from looking at him to looking behind him and turned around. He saw Loki and instantly started jogging over with that classic worried look of his written all over his face.

"Loki? My God, what happened to you?" Thor reached out, grabbing Loki by the shoulder.

"I'm fine," Loki whispered, trying not to go into another coughing fit.

Bucky scoffed slightly and shook his head. "Boy, if I had a bruise that looked that bad, I wouldn't be fine, but I guess you-" He suddenly stopped talking and his eyes widened as he stared down at his right hand, the flesh and bone one. It was slowly starting to disintegrate into tiny bits of what looked like dust or ash. He glanced up at the dear Captain. "Steve?" All of Bucky's confusion and fear were laced through that one word and then he completely vanished, the dust blowing away in the light breeze.

Loki gasped, not only because the man was completely gone but because Bucky had been supporting all of his weight. He started to fall down, but Thor was right by his side and caught him. He pulled him close to him as they both stared where Bucky had been. Steve had rushed over and stared too. The dear Captain was breathing deeply and he obviously did not understand. He appeared so lost. It was almost frightening to see the brave soldier look so helpless. Loki shook his head in disbelief.

This _could not_ be happening.

But it was and it was far from over.

Loki checked his own hands, so far he was still here and solid and Thor's tight grip around him told him that his brother was still here as well. _Wanda_. He had to make sure Wanda was okay. He spotted Vision lying flat on his back underneath a tree nearby the clearing, Wanda was on her knees next to him. At first when he had seen Vision still in one piece, he had thought that he was still alive. But then Thanos placed the Vision's stone in his Gauntlet. Now he could tell that the intelligent and kind android was gone. He was void of all color except for a deathly dark gray and his artificial eyes no longer had that remarkable spark of life that they once had.

Loki was trying to make his legs work and move away from Thor's protective grip to the poor crying girl next to Vision. Thor was saying something. Probably asking him what he was doing or where he was going, but Loki didn't hear him. It was like he was in a hypnotic daze and all that mattered was ensuring that the people closest to him were okay. Bucky and Vision were gone and Thor was fine for now. That meant his priorities were on Wanda, Bruce, and the kind king of Wakanda.

Somehow he had broken away from Thor and made it to Wanda and Vision. Thank the stars that they were only a few steps away, because Loki wasn't sure if he would be able to go much further than that. He dropped to his knees right next to the dead Vision and looked at Wanda. She was so upset. Her flawless raven eyes were quickly becoming red rimmed from all the tears and she looked as if she was on the verge of screaming. Nobody would blame her if she did.

There was nothing he could say, nothing that would bring about any kind of comfort. Nothing that would bring her Vision back to life. "I'm so sorry, Wanda. I…" He started coughing again and he had to rub his throat slightly because of the pain the coughing had caused.

Wanda stared at Vision's face and she said in a hollow voice, "Thanos didn't even think twice about it. He just came up and plucked the stone from his head and tossed him aside like he was nothing." He knew what it was like to lose those that you love the most in this world and his heart bled for her. He was going to try and say something comforting, even though he knew it was a moot point, when he saw that she was starting vanish in the same way that Bucky had.

"No," he whispered.

She looked up from Vision to meet his eyes. She was afraid and still reeling from the resent heartbreak, but the emotion that stood out in her was some sort of determination. It was like the kind that a teacher has when they are about to confront a group of misbehaving students. It was also strong. "Don't blame yourself."

Loki squinted his eyes in confusion. "What?"

But she didn't repeat herself. She didn't have time to. Wanda disappeared and blew away in the same manner as Bucky had.

Loki shook his head, almost frantically, not believing it. He suddenly started feeling light headed. He wasn't sure if it was because of the blood loss or because he was borderline hyperventilating. The familiar strong grip was on his shoulders again and Thor was telling him that he needed to breathe normally. He shook his head again. He couldn't think past the thought that none of this could really be happening. It was impossible. It had to be. Or he hadn't been saved by Natasha. Thanos had cracked his neck like a walnut and this was Hell. But just like all those years ago when he had first had the idea in his shadowy cold cell, that he was in Hell instead of still being in the plane of living, a creeping feeling started in his stomach that told him that this was real.

This _was_ real.

It…it was…this was really…

 _Oh, stars no._

…

The entire day had in all reality been slow, it just felt fast because the plan kept changing. First it was save the Asgardians, then it was fight Thanos, then it was convince Strange and Stark to believe him and Bruce, then it was fight the members of the Black Order, and then and then and then. So on and so forth, until finally he was here in Wakanda fighting alongside his newfound friends and his brother. But after the snap the hours just seemed to fly by. A lot had happened he supposed.

Vision, Bucky, and Wanda were not the only ones who were gone: T'Challa, Sam, and Thor's new friend Groot all had slowly turned to dust and vanished completely. The rest of the group collected themselves up and left the wooded area to head back to the field and then Shuri's lab. The dear Captain carried Vision's lifeless body and Thor had his arm around Loki, helping him to walk. The Outriders were vanquished but now it felt like a hollow victory. The remaining Wakandan warriors and Dora Milaje members all stood in a daze on the field. Half of them were gone.

Despite the shock that no doubt everyone was feeling, priority number one was getting all the wounded to Shuri's lab. And there were a lot of wounded. If you took away all of the warriors and Dora Milaje and just took in account their little group, they had several bruises, cuts, scrapes, a few fractured bones, and a handful of mild concussions. They must have been a sight: the slightly broken survivors who were all shell shocked by what they had witnessed. No order had been given but everyone started migrating back to the city and Shuri's lab and when they were still walking through the yellowed field, the preppy girl greeted them.

"You're alive. Good. I thought that-" She saw Vision. "Oh no…" She walked closer to Steve carrying the now gray android. She shook her head, deeply saddened and then suddenly her head popped up. She glanced around the group with a wild scared look in her eye. "Where's T'Challa?"

Nobody answered her with words, but the dear Captain's deep sigh, M'Baku's slight dip of his head downwards, and General Okoye's soft, "Shuri…" were enough for the girl to understand that her brother was gone.

"No," she said, tearing up. She took several steps away from the group and only General Okoye made an attempt to calm her.

"Shuri, listen to me."

"No, I don't believe you!" She started to run but the General caught her arm and pulled her into a tight almost motherly embrace. Shuri broke down right then and there, loudly sobbing into the other woman's shoulder. And the fierce General kept her tears at bay but only barely. Despite Shuri's great intellect and ability with technology, she was still just a child. A child who had lost her brother.

It wasn't fair.

Eventually, General Okoye calmed the girl enough for her to break from their embrace and walk with the girl with her arm protectively around her shoulders. The group all wearily continued across the field and to the sleek black building that held Shuri's lab. And to think that Loki and their smaller group had all gone there less than two hours ago. Time was being cruel again.

The severely wounded, the unconscious, were set down on the wonderfully crafted gray tables, while everyone else sat to the sidelines. The dear Captain who had so much dried blood on his face and a still bleeding nose said that he wished to have a conference with all those who were willing. Of course. They all needed to plan their next move. They were The Avengers after all, despite their feelings of devastation they needed to keep their level heads about them. M'Baku, Rhodey, Bruce, who was out of the Hulk Buster suit with only a few minor bruises, and Natasha all stood up and went with Steve to regroup. Shuri went around with a handful of small metal beads, placing them on the injured warriors, and then activated them with her big beaded bracelet. The beads were some sort of healing technology. Shuri told General Okoye, "You should go with them."

The General blinked a few times, unsure if that was a good idea. "You will be alright?"

Shuri nodded with no sense of being sincere. "I will keep busy, helping to heal the wounded. I will be fine."

General Okoye frowned but bowed her head. "Yes, my Princess." And with that she left.

Loki and Thor sat to the sidelines, the talking raccoon close by. "I guess…" Loki started and then stopped to softly cough. "We should go, too."

Thor turned to him and looked at him like he was crazy. "What? No. You are staying right here and getting yourself fixed up. I know you. You used too much of your magic and now you are drained and can't heal yourself."

"Thor…"

"And I can't stand seeing the sight of you hurt."

"The others…they were hurt…they didn't stay…to be healed." Damn, he really sounded terrible didn't he?

The raccoon who was standing off to their right with his arms crossed scoffed, "Those guys didn't have a giant black and blue bruise on their neck, man. They also could speak without sounding like a sad frog." The raccoon was an interesting blunt thing, wasn't he? "But I think I might go and see what they're talkin' about. See what our next move is. See how we track the monster man down."

Loki scoffed, but then started coughing again. Thor gently patted him on the back. Thor turned to the raccoon. "Go, my friend. I will be here, with my brother."

Shuri glanced over at the two with a sad shine about her eyes and then quickly went back to what she was working on. Loki felt himself starting to feel guilty for still having Thor at his side. Here there was this poor girl who had lost her brother and it was like he was showing off because he still had his. Obviously he wasn't, but at this point Loki was feeling guilty for just about anything. And on top of this new guilt, he felt that he did not deserve Thor's deep affection and attention.

No.

He didn't deserve it.

He had known about Thanos and his quest to find the stones and he never told anyone. Not when he was brought back to Asgard, not when he was locked away in the dungeons, not when he was king for almost four years. He might have been a good, fair king that helped allow Asgard to prosper, who did not take too much advantage of the power of the throne, but he could have warned the people or somebody. But no. He just kept his mouth closed and naively and probably hopefully thought that Thanos would forget about him and would never gain all six Infinity Stones. They could have had all this time to plan, to prepare, but instead they were all blindsided by the ruthless power of Thanos even without all the stones.

" _Don't blame yourself."_ Those were Wanda's last words and now they made sense. She must have been in his head or she just knew him that well after so short a period of time. She knew that he would blame himself for this failure and the loss of his friends and the others. But how could he not blame himself? How could anyone not blame him for all of this? Even Thor? If it had come to light that someone else had known about Thanos and his insane plan for all this time, they would be just as guilty as the mad Titan.

He was guilty and he certainly didn't deserve Thor's soft and affectionate filled gazes.

He rubbed his head and muttered, "For star's sake…if you aren't going to allow-allow me to go then…at least you should go."

"Brother, I am not leaving-"

"You need to be a part of their planning. I'm fine."

"Loki-"

" _Just go_." His tone had a more bitter bite then what he had intended, but Thor seemed to finally get the message.

"…Well, if you're sure you will be alright."

"Yes. I'm fine."

Thor nodded quietly and stood up from where he sat. The muscular man seemed sad and confused.

 _I can't do one damn thing right._

Loki just wanted Thor to go and help the others because they deserved to have Thor be at their little regrouping conference and he didn't deserve to have him by his side. He didn't mean to make it come across that he did not want Thor around. He did. With all of his heart, he wanted his brother to be with him and even comfort him, it was just…he didn't _deserve_ it.

"I'll be back later and tell you what we talk about. Okay?" Thor said, his eyes still sad and confused.

Loki nodded weakly. "Fine." With that Thor and the raccoon both left Shuri's lab, leaving Loki to sit by himself and dwell in his own self-loathing and guilt. After all those who were unconscious were taken care of, Shuri started making her way around to the ones sitting to the sidelines. She approached Loki first, to which he sent her away to take care of the others first. There were so many others. Maybe about forty or so. She needed to help her people first before the man who knew and did nothing for years. He didn't deserve to be healed up by the sweet girl who had lost her brother because of him.

About twenty or thirty minutes later, Shuri came back to him. "You are all that is left." He glanced up at the girl and then around the room. There were only a handful of the warriors and Dora Milaje members still in the room, either still being healed or just resting up. He tried to tell her he was fine, because he was holding fast to his belief that he shouldn't be healed. But Shuri insisted, "You are not fine. I'm fixing you up whether you like it or not."

Loki sighed and followed her to an empty gray table. She motioned to the table and he figured that meant, "get on it", so he did. He laid on the table, taking note how surprisingly comfortable it was for being a hard slab of metal. She told him to lay on his uninjured side so she could put the metal beads on the three painful cuts. He did what he was told and allowed her to put the beads on his injury, about three beads on each cut. She waved her bracelet over them and they all glowed a faint blue. He didn't understand the science of the metal beads but at this point he didn't care. Then she got another handful of the beads and was preparing to put them on his neck but he shook his head. "Just the side. The neck is fine."

" _Please_ , it is not."

"It's fine."

Shuri gave up arguing and left him alone to check on the others that were still being healed up. It had taken a little less than an hour for the beads to heal his side as good as new. He had to once again be impressed by Shuri's and Wakanda's science advances, they were just as good as his magic. He reached for his side and grabbed up all of the beads in his hand. He then sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table. Shuri was off in the corner talking with an older African woman, whose white hair was in braids similar to Shuri's. The older woman had a regal and elegant appearance that one could not explain and she appeared to be deeply saddened.

Shuri noticed Loki sitting up and left the woman to approach him. "All better, then?" she asked as she took the beads away from him.

"Yes. Thank you." He glanced over at the white haired woman. Shuri caught his glance.

"That is Ramonda, my mother. She was with the rest of the people when T'Challa had the city evacuated. I am just thankful that she is still here." There was a slight crack in her voice when she said she was thankful that her mother was still here. Loki nodded solemnly. T'Challa had spoken about his and Shuri's father in the past tense, no doubt he was gone. And now T'Challa…besides from the people of Wakanda, the only family Shuri probably had was her mother. And all her mother had was Shuri.

He was libel to start getting emotional if he stayed here with the mother and daughter, so he decided he would leave and go search for Thor and the others. Thor had never come back so the little regrouping conference must still be going on. He was slowly making his way through the beautiful, shiny halls with their projections on the walls when he could hear the remaining Avengers, General Okoye, and M'Baku all talking in an opened room. "Talking" was being nice.

"All I asked was, do we even understand what has happened? I did not need the sarcasm," M'Baku snapped. Loki approached the doorway leading to the slick black room with cushy chairs, but he stayed out of view so he could listen without being seen.

"And I told you," Natasha snapped back. "On a scientific level not really, on a crazy magic-god level yes."

"And we're back to the sarcasm," M'Baku grumbled.

"The real question we need to be asking ourselves is not what is happening or do we understand what is happening, but what do we do now?" That was Rhodey. It was one of the few times since Loki had met the War Machine that he heard him with a take charge tone.

"What can we do?" Steve asked miserably. "According to the news, people have disappeared all over the world and I doubt that it stopped after that. We…we need all communications back online and we need to prepare to help where we are needed." There was a short moment of silence, no doubt someone or maybe everyone was eyeing the dear Captain with a look of confusion. "There is going to be mass panic. Hysteria. We need to be there to help calm the public."

"Calming people down? So, what, we're shrinks now?" At first Loki didn't recognize the voice but then he realized it was the raccoon.

"Calm the public so there is not a wave of panic induced crime," Steve reiterated.

"And what of Thanos?" Thor asked, his gruff voice unreadable. "We just let him go and do nothing to search for him?"

"And if we did, then what?" Natasha asked sounding lower than ever. "With all of the people we had to fight we still lost…now we are only half of that."

"And I will not allow any more Wakandan lives to be sacrificed in this endeavor," M'Baku said firmly.

General Okoye whispered, "You are not the King of Wakanda. You cannot make that decision."

"Tell me General, if these people here all knew the exact location of Thanos and had a way to get there, would you rally your Dora Milaje and go to have the rest of them taken away from you?"

The General was silent. That probably meant she wouldn't. It was quiet all around the room for a moment before Bruce sighed and said, "So, the plan is to help the remaining people on Earth to prevent mass hysteria."

"Yes," Steve said quietly.

Natasha sighed, "Guess we should call Clint and Scott to help. See if they're even…still with us."

"Excuse me," the raccoon started, "but I thought you people were "The Avengers" not "The Public Controllers"." Had Loki not been in a black and depressed mood, he might have half smirked at that comment.

"What's your point?" Rhodey asked.

"My point is you should be doing what the god man said. You should be huntin' Thanos down and ya know, avenging the people you lost." The raccoon brought up a valid point, as did the dear Captain. It was something that needed to be carefully thought over and discussed.

Instead Rhodey scoffed, "Why is he even here? He's not a part of-"

"Of what? Your stupid band of super-heroes?" That raccoon was feisty.

It seemed like the group would be "talking" for a while and Loki grew tired of standing by the doorway anyways. He wanted to go somewhere and be alone. Alone. What an interesting concept. Being alone, a loner, was a painful existence but now he honestly did not know which was worse: being alone with no friends and no chance of acceptance or having friends that actually cared about you that were stolen away much too soon. Too soon. What made _this_ moment too soon? His own words came back to haunt him: " _This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing. It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready."_

He had said that to Thor in reference to Jane Foster's fleeting mortal life, but now he realized it was meant for him as well. Even if Wanda, Vision, Bucky, and T'Challa were still here, he would never be ready for their deaths. He had only just met them and already he had clung to them and acted like he had known them for years.

He needed to walk away from the doorway and go somewhere else, anywhere else, now. He stepped away and went back in the direction he had come, but turned down a different corridor instead of going straight back to Shuri's lab. Millions of lives had been lost, not just his first friends and he knew that, but…it was so easy to just focus on the small picture. And the small picture was only the people who were lost in Wakanda. And he couldn't stop thinking about them all.

Half of the remaining Wakandan warriors and Dora Milaje members. They all had been brave and steadfast in their fighting against the Outriders. And for only having swords and spears against a vicious alien race, they held their own.

He continued walking down this new corridor until he came to an area where he had to turn left or right. He went to the left and was walking alongside a row of giant windows looking out to the city. Those who were evacuated were starting to slowly come back, so the city was more alive then what it had been when he and the others had arrived.

Groot, the odd tree creature. He knew virtually nothing about him, only that he was a new friend of Thor's and that he had shown no fear when facing Thanos. That was enough to make him respect him.

He paused at one of the windows to stare out of it. He could feel the lazy half setting sun beat down on him through the glass, but he didn't care.

Sam Wilson, the man with the winged jet pact. Loki had said he was annoying, but he was a good soldier and fighter and a force to be reckoned with.

The sun was a bright yellow orange ball in the sky. It would not be too much longer till it was dusk. Then this day would finally be over.

T'Challa, King of Wakanda and the Black Panther. A calm, kind, and peace seeking king who was prepared for the battle at a moment's notice. And if he held any ill will against Loki he had never said so, in fact he had been generous enough to open his kingdom up to the Asgardian refugees.

He had to stop thinking about these losses. There was no point in tormenting himself over something that could not be changed. But…he probably deserved the torment too.

Bucky Barnes, the metal armed man who knew what it was like to have your mind stolen away and be seen as the villain. The deep understanding that flashed in his eyes and his abilities as a fighter made him one of the few people that Loki felt like he could actually connect with.

This was too hard, too much. Loki kept walking, further down the hall, trying to escape his own cursed thoughts. But he couldn't get away.

The Vision, the extraordinary android with the Mind Stone set in his forehead. Artificial or not, he was a wise individual, whose easy acceptance not only shocked Loki but probably was what turned the other Avengers to trust him.

Now it was like he was frantically running away, but the thoughts were internal and he could not run from the internal. There was an opened door off to the left that he didn't even hesitate in going in. Not a soul was in there. That was good. The room had the same décor as the whole building and no doubt the whole city, with elegantly crafted furniture throughout the room, but unlike most of the rooms it was one of the few to not have any windows. He didn't really pay much attention to any of it, he just shut the door behind him and walked to the center of the room.

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. The friend and sister he never realized he had wanted. She was young and powerful and was full of mischievous spunk. She had seen his whole life and had said that she wanted to know him better. She did not mock, she did not run away. She wanted to know _him_. And now she was gone, in a flash, along with the others.

It had been a couple of hours since the end of the battle and his magic had slowly started to come back along with his strength. Healing always took the most amount of strength and concentration and if he really wanted to, he could have healed his bruise right here and now, that is how much his magic was back. But he didn't want to. The thought never even crossed his mind.

All Loki knew was that he was in the middle of this grand little sitting room feeling the weight of guilt, self-loathing, and most of all loss. And then he clenched both fists and all the furniture, a couch, three wooden chairs, a small polished table, and two yellow lamps, flew back away from him crashing into the walls. Both lamps broke to pieces the second they made impact and two of the chairs lost two of their legs. Everything else just slammed into the walls and then fell to the ground with loud crashes. It wasn't enough. He still had so much anger and pain locked all up in his heart and in his mind and he was sick of not reacting.

He clenched his fists together again, feeling his fingernails bite into his palms, and squeezed his eyes shut. All the fury and rage at Thanos, at himself, at the fact that his friends were lost was unleashed. And his magic tore that room apart. He hadn't reacted like this since the news of his mother's death was given to him. This was not that different from then, the little acceptance that he got was snatched from him and all because of his…his…he couldn't think of the right word.

 _Because of me. Me. That is a good enough word._

His anger started to simmer down, leaving only depression and a deep emptiness. And of course the guilt. The guilt would never go away. It would just be a remaining presence that it was his fault and it would stay and consume him. He slowly unclenched his fists, both hands were shaking from the pain that his nails had inflicted, and he opened his teary green eyes and saw all the damage he had caused.

Everything was in pieces now. Shattered bulb shards from the lamps, splintered wood from the table and chairs, and feathers from the couch cushions were all scattered on the floor. It was like the whole room had been hit by a bomb or a whirlwind. A few pieces of table or maybe it was the chair had been hit with enough force to be jammed into the walls. The wood just sat there protruding from the black and gray painted wall. Loki sighed. What had any of this accomplished? He didn't feel like he was going to scream anymore. Great. But he had completely destroyed a room and he had drained himself of some of him powers. And for what? For nothing.

He stepped over a chair leg and a torn open couch cushion and went to the wall across from the shut door, there was a shard of glass and a hunk of wood protruding from that too. He leaned his back against the wall, slid down to the floor, and curled his legs to his chest. He wanted someone to tell him everything would be alright, even though it obviously wouldn't be, and at the same time he knew he did not deserve to have somebody waste their time consoling him. Those tears in his eyes were threatening to spill over.

Loki didn't hear the door creak open but he did hear a voice mumble, "Holy shit…" His head popped up and he saw that the talking raccoon had walked in and was looking around at the destruction in an almost speechless kind of way. "Well, this is intense."

Loki quickly wiped at his eyes and didn't know how to even try to explain himself. "What do…why are you…?"

Thankfully, the raccoon knew the answer to his poorly spoken question. "Ah, your brother wanted to talk to you. Although, now I'm thinking that wasn't such a good idea." The raccoon walked in further, watching where he stepped so not to cut his foot or get a sliver. "Anyways, he went searching for you and I said I would help him out since this place is so freakin' big and ah, yeah."

"Did he say what he wanted?"

"No. I assume it is to get you to get your neck healed up by that kid…" The regrouping conference must have been over and Thor must have gone to Shuri's lab and seen that he wasn't there. Shuri would have told him that he refused to have her put the beads placed on his throat and neck. And classic Thor would get all worried and overprotective for no reason. The raccoon picked up one of the couch cushions that wasn't completely destroyed and threw it to the ground about three feet away from Loki. "We never met officially before. I'm Rocket." He sat down on the cushion.

"Loki."

"Yeah, I know. You, um, you alright?" Rocket asked the question in a way that made Loki think that he regretted asking it in the first place. He knew that it was a dumb and obvious question and yet he felt obligated to ask it.

Loki should have been nice about or at least tried, but now was the time to continue the facade. To be the God of Mischief and to be better than everyone else. "Oh, I'm absolutely excellent. I only just lost basically all of the friends that I had. My _first_ friends." And as quickly as he had put on the mask of sarcasm it had started to fade. "They were the brave heroic ones, the ones that deserve to live, and yet here I am alive and they're all just…gone."

"Yeah. Tell me about it."

Loki glanced up at the raccoon and noticed his own sadness. "You lost your tree friend."

Rocket nodded and sighed, "Groot. Yeah. He's been dead before, but…I don't know. It still hurts…" Wasn't that the truth? "Least you got your brother. Bet there are some people out there in the universe that lost everybody."

Loki shrugged, "True, but…it still…" He couldn't begin to try and explain all the emotions he was feeling right now. And even if he could, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Opening himself up was what made this all so much more painful than it had to be. The last thing he needed was to befriend someone else and then turn around and lose them too. But he already started asking a question that could lead to conversation and conversation could lead to friendship. "You have others out there, then?"

"Yeah, this dumb little group I'm in called the Guardians of the Galaxy. Quill, Drax, Gamora, Mantis…Bunch of morons. But they're my morons…" Rocket was quiet for a moment before saying, "What are the odds that they would all disappear? A few of them are still out there I know it." It was like he was trying to convince himself that what he had said was true.

All Loki could do was blink and wonder if he had heard the raccoon correctly. "Did you say Gamora?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"She wouldn't happen to be a green skinned woman, with a step-sister named Nebula?"

Now it was Rocket's turn to blink. "Uh, yeah."

"And she's step-daughter to Thanos?"

"Are you psychic or something?"

" _Hardly._ It's just…I used to know Nebula and she would speak about her step-sister in an ill manner." "Ill manner" was being nice. The way that Nebula had spoken about Gamora, the few times she did, it was in a spiteful and loathing way. He had never met Gamora face to face but he had caught glimpses here and there. And he had to wonder how did the, according to Nebula, favorite daughter of Thanos end up with a group that at least two of its members were willing to fight Thanos.

Rocket said, "You knew the blue chick?" Loki nodded. "Hmm. What are the odds that two people who have never met before would know or know of two other people?"

" _People_?" Loki had said it before he could stop himself.

Rocket growled, " _Fine._ What are the odds that a mangy little beast and a guy who's acting like an ass even though I'm just trying to be nice, who have never met before would know or know of two other people?"

 _Well, obviously I offended him._

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to insult, I just…" he took in a deep breath, "No. There is no excuse. Stars, I…I hate being made to feel like less than others and here I am doing it. So, I am sorry."

Rocket crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Loki. "How could _you_ be made to feel like less than others? I saw you on the field. You're good with the knives. And you're the tall, dark, and handsome type. Girls are probably all over you."

Loki half laughed, half scoffed, " _Hardly_." Rocket raised his eyebrows, wanting an explanation. And despite that fact that Loki knew this was treading dangerously close to opening himself up again he was willing to give the raccoon the explanation he was seeking. "I've always been, I've always felt like I was less than Thor. That I could never be his equal. It's all I ever truly wanted. To be acknowledged in the same way as he was for his gifts and abilities. It's…it's not important anymore." He had stopped himself before going too much further. He couldn't go on without completely falling apart-

"Why were you pushing your brother away earlier?"

"I wasn't-" He glanced up at Rocket and met his dark brown black eyes. Loki hadn't even said the whole lie yet and the raccoon already knew it was a lie. Not only was Rocket feisty, but he had a sharp perceptiveness to him. If Loki hadn't been so broken from this day he probably would have continued with the lie, but as effortless as lies came to him, he was tired of them. "Because I don't deserve his affections. Or anyone's for that matter. I should just stop trying and just-just die alone somewhere."

Rocket stared at him for a few seconds before rubbing his forehead in a tired way and sighed, "Oh boy…" He shook his head. "You and your brother really _do_ have issues. Whole time Groot and I were traveling with the guy all he kept talkin' about was how he had survived the encounter with Thanos so he could kill the purple chinned jerk, like it was his destiny or something. And then he went on and on about you and how if it turned out that you hadn't made it and he lost you…boy. Kinda got scary there for a second."

Loki didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you idiot, that if you died he would go completely ballistic. And here you are crying how you don't deserve his love or whatever. Is it because you people are from this Asgard place that makes you both so damn dramatic?"

That was a good question. One that he didn't have an answer for. He could only imagine Thor going "ballistic" at his loss. It shouldn't have been surprising because Thor apparently cared about him no matter what he did, but for some reason it did. He truly did not think that highly of himself at all, did he? Then the gruff, muscular, short haired man that Loki was thinking about stepped hesitantly into the room and spotted both Loki and Rocket. "Loki," Thor started and then he stopped and examined the room with wide worried eyes. "Brother?"

Loki started to open his mouth to explain but Rocket cut him off. "Well, I should leave and let you two discuss your family problems." He stood from the couch cushion and started to leave, again he carefully watched his step to avoid stepping on something sharp. When he was past Thor and almost out the door he turned back around. "Loki, you're okay." Loki blinked at that not really sure what to say. Rocket turned back to leave but before he did he told Thor, "Also your brother has got some major self-esteem issues and a massive guilt complex. Good luck with that." And then the odd raccoon was gone.

Loki could feel Thor's concerned gaze hit him, but he did not look up to meet it. Thor sighed and started to walk closer. "Bruce told me the events of both of your days. He said you had started to become friends with some of the people who, uh, well…" Loki took a deep breath but didn't answer. Thor stepped over some of the discarded furniture and ended up sitting on the floor next to Loki. He placed his strong hand on Loki's shoulder. That caused Loki to finally turn and meet his gaze. "Brother, I am _so_ sorry."

Loki paused for one second before asking, " _Why?_ "

Thor blinked in confusion. "What?"

Loki shook his head and felt the tears come back to his eyes. He whispered, "I don't understand you. Or-or Bruce or Wanda or anyone who started to trust me. You should not trust me. You should not care." His voice was starting to crack. "I am and will always be a monster and y-you should hate me. You should-"

Thor didn't hesitate in pulling Loki into a tight hug. Loki completely froze at the feeling of Thor's arms wrapped tightly around him. "Even after everything that has happened, I could never hate you, brother. You hear me? Never. And you are not a monster, you never were one and you never will be one."

And then Loki completely broke down.

Every emotion from every fiber of his entire being just poured out of him and before he knew it he had his own arms around Thor, clinging to him like his life depended on it, and he was sobbing into his shoulder. This wasn't just because of his friends' loss or his never ceasing guilt, it was _everything_. The stomach clenching fear, the miserable feeling of the loss of Thor that he had sent the whole day hiding, the selfish relief that his brother was in fact alive, the deep dark and consuming depression and emptiness.

It had all been there just beyond the thin veil of sarcasm, mischief, and the egotistical demeanor, and even though he would let others sometimes see through the cracks of his disguise, this was the first time in a while that he let anyone see his true self, the utter mess that he was. And in doing so, he made himself feel weak and ashamed that he couldn't keep it together. Loki held himself to an impossible standard that when he failed to meet it, which was quite often, it was just another reason confirming his self-loathing.

But Thor did not find his display of emotions as weak and pathetic. He just held him tighter as if he was trying to protect him from his internal conflict.

 _You don't deserve his comforting._

But Loki couldn't make himself pull away from his brother's embrace.

 _So damn weak…_

If he could not punish himself by denying Thor's affections then he would just have to do it vocally. "It's my fault," he murmured. "It's all my fault. I knew about Thanos and his plan and I did nothing."

Thor patted his back in a sympathetic manner. "Loki, you're not the one who snapped his fingers and erased half of the universe."

"But I _knew_ and I should have done something."

Thor sighed, perhaps realizing that he was getting nowhere this way. "Alright, fine. Why did you not say anything?"

Because when he first came back to Asgard he was still under Thanos's spell and blamed Odin for everything. Because he was arrogant enough to think that Thanos would never gain all the stones and be able to manipulate their power. Because he had naïvely hoped that Thanos would lose to someone else. But Loki didn't say any of those excuses, instead he said one that even surprised him. "Because I knew if I did we would have to go after him and the idea of confronting him…" He started shaking, more then what he already was.

"Brother?" Thor asked softly.

"He scares the hell out of me, okay? And after my failure in New York, who knew what his plans were for me. And I couldn't-I can't-"

"Shh. It's okay." And just like in the dark world, Thor's words filled him with some sort of comfort that everything was okay. So he just stopped talking and went back to crying, although this time his sobs were silent like those of an abandoned and unloved child. "Loki, I doubt that you were the only person in the whole universe who knew of Thanos's plan. You cannot put this all on your shoulders. It is not your fault."

Loki almost believed that. He wanted to believe it, but…he just couldn't. Thor just didn't understand. If he knew everything he wouldn't be so willing to comfort him.

What Loki didn't understand was if Thor knew _everything_ he would have held his brother closer still and vowed to murder the Titan who had dared to lay a finger on his brother.

…

Bruce sat at a smoothly polished silver table that was in the middle of a dimly lit room, facing a rather large window. It was funny how this place was filled with large windows. He just sat there staring out of the window in a sort of exhausted trance. The sun had set by now and the already dazzling city had come to life with thousands of white and golden lights. Bruce was vaguely aware of the spectacle but mostly he was just staring in a thoughtless type of way. The events of the day had taken its toll on him and the rest of the team. At the very least the events were stressful, at the most world halting intense. The sting of failure was heavy on everyone, Bruce knew that, but it was obviously was affecting others more than the rest. Even without having a PhD in psychology, he could see that.

He knew Natasha well enough to see that she was hurting beneath her toughness. More then what she would let on and more than the remaining Avengers. And it was clear that the poor genius girl, Shuri, was taking the loss of her brother incredibly hard. But the one that actually frightened him, was Loki. The always wisecracking, trickster god had fallen deafeningly silent. Bruce had seen him when they all had been in Shuri's lab just before Steve had called together their little meeting. The bruised and bloodied man just sat there staring hopelessly at the floor, Thor close at his side. It truly was a frightening sight. Thor and Thor's new friend, Rocket Raccoon, had gone searching for Loki when their meeting had broken up and they found out that Loki had left Shuri's lab without having his neck and throat healed up.

He probably should've helped them, but he was just so zonked. All he wanted to do was take a whole bottle of aspirin and drift to a restful sleep. Instead he just stared out the window waiting for Natasha to come back into the room. She was with Steve calling Clint Barton and whoever this Scott "Ant-Man" person was. Bruce knew the importance of ensuring that there weren't mass panic induced riots all over the globe because of what had happened, but…he had to agree with Thor and the raccoon: They should be hunting down Thanos or at the very least be finding a way to reverse the damage that had been done.

The former redhead walked in and put her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey. Did you call Clint? Is he okay? And the other guy?"

Natasha sat down next to him and didn't meet his gaze. "Clint's alive, but all three of his kids disappeared." Bruce sighed and rubbed his pounding temples. It shouldn't have been a shock anymore. All of this loss. But it was. Every single time it was like a punch in the stomach. "He has to get Laura somewhere safe and then he said he would come and help us out. He said he would pick up Scott."

"So, he's alive too then?"

"Yeah. I think he lost a few people, but not his daughter. That's good."

"Yes," Bruce nodded in agreement. He looked at the blonde woman sitting before him and saw the deep well of sadness that was written all over her face. "Nat."

She sniffed and looked up at him. "Yeah?"

What were the right words to say to someone who lost members of their team? Not just members of their team, members of their "adoptive" family. There were no right words or right actions, but Bruce thought he found something that could work. He reached for her hand and held it in his own. "Natasha, this all, well, it sucks. But there is still hope. As long as there are people out there who are willing to stand up against people like Thanos, we'll always win. And I don't know how long this will last, but there has to be a way to figure this out."

Natasha seemed to relax slightly and the sadness seemed to dial itself back a bit. And then she half smiled. "Did you write that down first? Because as motivational speeches go, I think that could use some work."

He chuckled, it felt weird to do so. "What can I say, I'm not a poet."

The two of them just sat there in the dim room, holding each other's hands, staring into the other person's eyes. It wasn't so much romantic as it was reassuring. They still had each other. They were some of the lucky few.

Rhodey practically ran into the room, startling both Bruce and Natasha. The man looked both winded and worried. "Rhodey, what is it?" Natasha asked, standing up from the table. Bruce stood up too.

Rhodey took a few deep breaths before mumbling, "Shuri and some of the other Wakandans saw something unusual on their radar or heat imagers or whatever it is that they have. The point is they're picking up something that looks like a small space ship coming our way. And not just one, about fifty of them." Any color that Natasha had gained back from talking to Bruce she instantly lost.

Bruce's head was starting to spin. Fifty ships? That was the equivalent to a small army. And why? Thanos had already won. He had already snapped his fingers and wiped out half of the universe, so why would he send-? Natasha was already running out of the room back to Shuri's lab. Bruce ran after her, Rhodey slowly jogged behind him. After several turns and up an inclined plane they were back in Shuri's lab. Steve stood behind where Okoye, M'Baku, and Shuri's mother Ramonda all stood and watched the genius girl tap her fingers across a screen. Natasha went to Steve. "What's happening?"

"They're trying to make contact. See if they're friendlies or not."

And just as if on cue, Shuri pressed a green circle in the middle of her screen and said, "This is Shuri, Princess of Wakanda speaking. You are approaching Wakanda without permission, identify yourself now." For five terribly long seconds there was nothing but silence. Shuri turned to the three directly behind her. "They have stopped about thirty feet away from the barrier and they just sit there."

"We should attack," M'Baku said.

"And if they are not our enemy?" Ramonda questioned.

M'Baku shrugged. "They would have answered by now if they were not hostile."

A static noise came from the screen. Shuri spun back around. "Someone is trying to make contact over this frequency. Hello, hello? Does anybody copy?" The static noise continued and grew louder until it abruptly stopped. Steve and Natasha gave each other a look. Shuri tried to reach them again. "Hello? Is anybody out there?"

The static came back full force this time and a British sounding woman called out over the radio, _"Yes! We're all here. Sorry, I couldn't get this stupid transmitter to work and then I dropped it. Bloody thing…"_

Bruce's eyes widened with realization. He knew that voice. "Oh my God."

"What?" Natasha asked turning to him.

"That's-that's Valkyrie."

…

Loki had fallen into a teary eyed sleep in his brother's arms. Thor only noticed this when he realized that Loki wasn't crying into his shoulder anymore. At first he had thought that Loki had finally calmed down, but when he started to pull away, Loki fell against him. It was understandable. From what Thor could see, his poor brother was utterly exhausted and after the extreme release of emotions, both in destroying the room they sat in and in sobbing his heart out, it made sense that he would drift asleep.

Thor carried Loki to a room that was across from the broken up room. There was a cushiony couch in that room and Thor had laid him down on it. Loki stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Thor grabbed a wooden chair and sat next to the sleeping Loki. He was utterly exhausted too, but he felt obligated to sit and watch over Loki. He stared at his brother, who looked so calm and peaceful in comparison to what he had been before. If there was anything Thor could wish for in this world it would be that he could make everything better for Loki. His brother's words were still echoing in his head: _"I am and will always be a monster and y-you should hate me."_

Was that what Loki truly believed? It obviously was, but Thor couldn't believe it. All that guilt, shame, grief, and fear that was written all over Loki's face was so heart wrenching for Thor to see that all he could think to do was pull him into a tight embrace. They finally had that hug.

" _If you were actually here I might even give you a hug."_

" _I'm here."_

They were both here, but neither of them wanted to be here in this cloud of depression and failure. But back to the point, it was the fear that really got to Thor. It was like he saw that Loki had some deep fear and he wanted to know what it was so he could protect him from it. And the cause of Loki's fear? Thanos. Thor already hated the man, the Titan, but now…he wished he had splint Thanos down the middle when he had had the chance.

And why was Loki _this_ frightened by Thanos? Because Loki was no coward, a little less apt to fight maybe, but no coward. Before Thanos's attack on their ship, all the color Loki had drained completely away and he had been shaking like a leaf in the breeze. And he had been shaking again when Loki told Thor that he never told anyone about Thanos's plan because he was scared of him. But Thor heard Loki's voice, so soft and so frail. Loki wasn't afraid of Thanos, he was terrified of him.

Thor sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He needed to know what had happened between Thanos and his brother. He just needed to. At the same time he had this unusual sick feeling in his stomach that told him maybe he didn't want to know. But that worry that what had happened had been _that_ dreadful just strengthened Thor's resolve. If the remaining Avengers wouldn't track Thanos down, then he would himself. Thanos would fix this problem of everyone disappearing, he would tell Thor what he had done to Loki, and then he would pay for everything he had done and meet his end by Thor's axe.

There was a light tap on the door and then someone opened it a crack. "Thor?" Bruce asked as he opened the door all the way.

Thor stood up and carefully walked away from the sleeping Loki. He motioned for Bruce to go back out into the hallway. He did and then Thor was close behind him, pulling the door back shut. "What is it?"

Bruce seemed more awake and lively then what he had at their discussion of what they would do next. In fact he looked like he was on the verge of laughing or jumping for joy. "Thor, you'll never believe it, but Shuri and some of the others, they spotted a whole bunch of ships and-and its Valkyrie." Thor froze, from both shock and disbelief. "Thor? You okay?"

"What? Yeah, I…my God that means that the Asgardians…they're alright." Bruce nodded his head happily. Thor could feel the foreign sensation of a smile start to form on his lips. "Well, let's go! I-I have to see them all and…ah…" He was so overcome with an odd sense of happiness that he didn't know what to say.

"Should we tell Loki?"

Oh, right. Loki would want to know, but Thor shook his head. "I will, but later. Let him sleep for awhile and gain back all of his strength. He's taken all of this pretty hard so-"

"No need to explain. I understand." Bruce had such a level of understanding in his tone that it made Thor smile more. It was difficult to try and explain to people that Loki wasn't as bad as he had once been or seemed, but Bruce just seemed to get it. He got Loki. Maybe Loki hadn't lost all of his friends after all. "Come on. They should be through the barrier by now." And they both took off running in a direction that would lead them to the outside.

…

A large group of Wakandans, Shuri, her mother, the fierce bald woman, the man dressed all in blue, and the remaining Avengers were all already standing outside along the edge of the city when Thor and Bruce came running over. At least fifty small ships were hovering in the air and then landing in the beginning of the field. It was a glorious sight to see. The work and emergency pods that had been sent out into space and into safety, they were all here. A few of the pods opened up, there doors sliding open and the ramps being lowered, and out came families and shaken up groups of Asgardians.

Thor had never thought he would see his people again. Shuri approached him with a slight smile. It was odd to see any look of happiness on the girl who had so recently lost her brother, but he could tell that she was happy for him. She glanced at him and then the Asgardians who were being greeted by some of the Wakandans. "My brother told your brother that if the Asgardian refugees had nowhere else to go, they could stay in Wakanda as long as they liked." Thor turned in surprise. "I am now giving you the same offer."

He opened his mouth to say something but he was speechless. So instead he shut his mouth and patted the girl on the shoulder, his way of saying thank you. One of the closer pod ships opened up and out of it came the beautiful and strong woman in her Valkyrie white armor and blue cape, carrying the small purple Miek under her arm. Both Thor and Bruce called out to her and ran over. Valkyrie looked up at them in a sort of mild surprise but then she smiled slightly.

Bruce reached her first. "Hey, you're okay!"

"Of course I am. And you're not the big guy right now."

"Well…no."

Valkyrie saw Thor and handed Miek over to Bruce, who took the small creature with wide eyes. "Your majesty," she muttered.

Thor half waved. "Ah, hey, you uh, good to see that you are uh-"

He was interrupted by her abruptly throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. He certainly wasn't expecting that. "I'm glad you're alive," she said in a soft voice.

He hugged her back. "I'm glad that you're alive, too." And then as fast as she had hugged him, she pushed him away from her and slapped him across the face. "Ow! What the hell-?"

"That's for having your stupid brother send me away like I was some sort of second class citizen! I could have helped you with the fight if you hadn't been such an idiot!"

Thor rubbed his sore check and muttered, "I make sure you and Loki get to safety, away from the fight and what do I get for my troubles? You both yell at me."

"And that's another thing," Valkyrie said placing her hands on her hips. "Where do you get off on deciding that you get to protect me? I can protect myself! I have already proven that I am an expert fighter. I'm better then you and your pain in the neck brother."

"Look-"

"I'm not finished!" Thor kept his mouth shut. "I've never been to Midgard before, neither has most of the refugees so we were just flying around in space like a bunch of idiots not knowing where we were going! If you had told me from the beginning that you wanted me to go with the others, then you could have made sure I had coordinates or something, instead of sending the God of Mischief to do your dirty work!"

Thor nodded, hating that he was being yelled at in front of everyone, but he knew she wasn't wrong. "Alright, I didn't think it all through."

"No kidding."

"And I know you can take care of yourself but I just wanted to make sure that you would, you know, live." Valkyrie blinked her brown eyes at him and sighed. She didn't say anything else, but she wasn't yelling at him anymore. That meant she wasn't mad at him anymore but she still wasn't happy.

"Guys, I don't mean to interrupt," Bruce said, still off to the side. "But one, could someone take him," he motioned to Miek, "because he's all slimy and two, weren't there more refugees then this?"

Valkyrie took back Miek and patted his head sadly. "When we were wandering around something happened. People they were just…vanishing. They turned to dust." Thor and Bruce gave each other a look. "We are only half now."

Thor breathed deeply and glanced around at the Asgardians. The small population of his already dwindling people had been cut in half. _Again_. He should have known better. Thanos's snap did not just affect Wakanda. "Korg?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "He's gone." She seemed to hold Miek closer to her.

The remaining Avengers along with Shuri migrated closer to where Thor stood. Natasha stepped over to Bruce and placed her hand on his shoulder. Steve was the first to speak. "Thor, I'm sorry." Thor nodded slightly, not really hearing him. It was such a shock and yet it shouldn't have been. But he always did seem to have a knack for losing things, didn't he?

Shuri walked up to Valkyrie. "Hello, I am Shuri. We talked over the radio frequency. I want you and all of your people to know that you are welcome to stay here in Wakanda for as long as you want." Valkyrie smiled a tight smile and nodded her head.

Rhodey cleared his throat. "I don't mean to pry, but you said that you" he pointed at Valkyrie, "and the others have never been to Earth before."

"Yeah," she said.

"Then how did you get here? And more specifically, how did you know to go to Wakanda?"

Thor turned to face the fierce warrior expectedly. That was a good question. Valkyrie sighed, "As it turned out when we were wandering we were able to pick up a distress signal coming from an abandoned planet. I guess it's good we were out there because I don't know how else those two would have gotten off the planet."

"So, wait," Bruce said. "You picked up two more refugees from another planet?"

Valkyrie nodded. "It was just after we had lost half of everyone. I wasn't going to do anything about the signal because I thought it might be a trap. But then they said they had lost most of their team that had been fighting this Thanos guy, so…" Everyone was silent and they all gave each other glances. Valkyrie continued on, "Point is, we picked them up and the two of them both knew how to get us to Midgard. Then the guy had this odd rectangle devise that had all of these projections on it and he said that someone called "The Media" was talking about a battle between aliens and these people called Wakandans so he directed me and the rest of our ships here."

"This guy you picked up told you how to get here?" Thor asked.

"Yeah. Annoying guy. It might be because he's slightly injured but, the one who fascinated me the most wasn't the guy but the girl."

"The girl?"

"Yeah! She's all blue and has a metal arm and I think she knows your brother."

Thor blinked several times in confusion. "Loki?"

Valkyrie nodded. "I told her who I was and where I was from and about you and immediately she asked me if you were _the_ Thor, Prince of Asgard, brother of Loki."

"Brother of…" So that's what that felt like. To only be described as someone else's brother and not your own person. He didn't like it much and this was only the first time it had ever happened. Now he could see why Loki had hated being referred to as "Brother of Thor" so much.

"Actually, I think the guy knew your brother too and you," Valkyrie said.

Thor said, "Take me to them."

"No need," she said turning around to look at the ship she had exited. "Here they come now."

A bald blue woman with a metal arm came walking out, supporting the bloody and severally injured Tony Stark.

After a day like this, nothing should have surprised anyone. But what could they say? _This_ was a surprise.

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 _Author's Note Again: I know, I left it on a cliffhanger, but most of my chapters are kind of cliffhangers anyways so…_

 _I should note, for my current readers and to anyone reading this in the future, that this is written before Ant-Man and The Wasp and before Avengers 4. Anything that happens in the movies will probably not be reflected in this story and I am not changing the story at this point to go along with the canon of any future films. This is its own independent thing. Thank you._

 _Anyways, somebody tell me if I am doing justice for Bruce/Natasha and Thor/Valkyrie because I really don't ship either of them that much (I low-key ship it but…) and so I don't know if I'm doing it right. And yes, I know there is no "right" way to do anything in writing but, you know._

 _I apologize to every and all persons who loves Loki for making him suffer. But it just made sense that he would blame himself (unjustly) for the events of what happened and would break down. Loki is by far one of the most complex and fascinating characters to write for because he has so many layers and emotions to him. There is a song by Maria and the Diamonds called "Oh No!" which I highly recommend you all listen to and there is a lyric in the second verse that describes Loki perfectly: "I feel like I'm the worst, so I always act like I'm the best." And that's what makes Loki so interesting. He can go from this self-hating tortured person to this sarcastic, egotistical person and that is a character I love. (Probably why he has such a giant fan base)_

 _God bless Rocket Raccoon for saving this chapter from being completely one hundred percent depressing. He's definitely one of my favorite Guardians. And speaking of Guardians, Nebula's in Wakanda. Can't wait to write her and Loki's reunion!_

 _As I said before, I'm going on vacation and won't be able to upload any chapters for a while, but I do plan to write in my spiral whenever I have a chance, so…Maybe the next chapter will be done by the time I get back home and all I have to do is type it up. Maybe? Thank you as always for all your lovely reviews! Have a good day!_


	8. Chapter Seven

_Author's Note: The vacation is over (I very glad actually; there were some good parts but some of it was just meh) and typing took a little longer than expected so sorry about the wait, but hopefully the chapter will be worth it. Apologies again because more characters will be suffering in this chapter._

 _This chapter and the next will kind of be a Segway for the big things to come ahead so if this one and the next kind of read like nothing except for character building is happening, this is why. Don't worry, I got a plan! (And hopefully everyone will like it so…)_

 _On a separate note, we're up to ninety reviews! Ten away from a hundred! I cannot believe it and I just want to give every single reader, reviewer, follower, and favoriter a great big "Thank You"!_

 _ **Thank you!**_

 _Enjoy the chapter and my now usual "Author's Note Again" at the end. I have a special request at the beginning. I don't even know if everyone reads that…oh well, look at me getting all sidetracked. On to the chapter!_

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 _Chapter Seven: "New Hand?"_

At the sight of the bloodied and limping billionaire leaning against the odd blue girl, Steve and Bruce both rushed up the space pod's ramp to see if they could really believe their eyes. " _Tony?_ " Bruce asked, reaching out for his friend. "What-what, how, you-?"

The blue girl who had her metal arm around Tony answered, "Thanos stabbed him with a piece of his armor."

"I'm fine," Tony muttered. His bloodied hand was clutching at his left side, blood had stained through his black hooded zip-up coat.

"We must get him to my lab," Shuri called.

"Here," Bruce said stepping closer still to Tony. The blue girl traded places with Bruce so that he was the one supporting Tony and she was off to the side. Steve helped too. Tony's eyes shined with surprise and a sort of sadness when he saw Steve.

"Cap."

"Tony."

Tony looked the bearded man up and down and half chuckled. "You're the only man I know that can pull off both the Boy Scout look and the lumberjack look."

Steve smiled. "He'll be fine."

Rhodey shook his head. "Of course he will. He's looked death in the eye multiple times and still manages to come up with a smart quip. Only guy I know who does that."

"Clearly you haven't spent that much time with Clint," Natasha said stepping out of the way as Steve and Bruce lead Tony down the ramp and closer to the group.

"Agent Romanoff," Tony greeted. Then he seemed to notice that the redhead was a bleached blonde. "What happened to you? Decided to find a new spring look?"

Natasha smirked and almost absentmindedly felt the tips of her hair. "No. But you're the second person to ask me that."

Tony glanced around at the remaining Avengers all circled around him and the two other men supporting him. "Reindeer Games actually did it, didn't he?" he asked, turning to Bruce who smiled slightly. Bruce knew he was talking about his request for Loki to get him to the Avengers headquarters and to tell them all about Thanos. To assemble the Avengers.

Bruce nodded, "Yup, he sure did."

"And…and he didn't try to kill anyone?"

Steve remembered Tony's nickname for the trickster god so he knew who and what they were talking about. "Nobody," he answered. "Except for Thanos and his people."

Tony blinked a few times and softly scoffed. "Well, huh…who knew?"

M'Baku cleared his throat off to the side, impatiently. "We should get him to the lab like the Princess said and get all of these people to the shelter."

"I agree," Valkyrie said walking from Thor's side and heading in the direction where some of the refugees stood clamoring among themselves.

Ramonda stepped forward and said, "General." Okoye turned to her former Queen awaiting orders. "You go with her and make sure that the Asgardians are settled in." Okoye bowed her head and went to follow Valkyrie.

Tony's gaze followed Valkyrie's retreating form and he shook his head. "She's a loud one. Shouted orders and insults the whole ride over."

Thor shrugged. "She does that."

Tony had seen Thor but it was only at this moment that he actually realized what it meant. "You _are_ alive."

Thor sighed, "Why does everyone think that I died?"

"Because a Squidward looking creep with powers told your brother that he and Thanos had killed you."

Leave it to Tony Stark to be bluntly honest. Thor looked to Bruce in mild surprise because the gray and brown haired man had forgotten to mention that when he told Thor all about his and Loki's day. Bruce nodded appearing slightly uncomfortable, like he knew he hadn't told Thor everything and was now being called out for it. Why Bruce didn't tell him that, perhaps he hadn't thought that it was of high importance, would probably remain a mystery. All Thor knew was that he now understood why Loki had been so relieved and happy to see him in Wakanda. And why he had gotten so irritated when Thor had shrugged it off.

Thor wanted to smack his forehead with his hand. He really could be a witless oaf sometimes.

Once again M'Baku impatiently cleared his throat. Natasha came very close to rolling her eyes, but instead she resisted the urge and said, "Evidently, the fur ball wants us to hurry it up and get Tony to Shuri's lab."

"Hey, do not knock my fur clothes. I would like to see you survive the subzero temperatures of the snow covered mountains in your spandex leather outfit." M'Baku noticed Ramonda giving him an unamused glare and even though she never had any authority over him or his people, he quickly changed what he was saying to go back to being in "favor" with the former Queen. "I mean, ah, yes I would like us to hurry along."

"Nice save," Natasha muttered not at all holding back her sass.

Steve shook his head. "Seriously Nat?"

"What?"

Steve let out a deep sigh. Tony half chuckled, "Damn, I've missed this." With that Shuri, M'Baku, Ramonda, and the remaining Avengers all started making their way through the field and back towards the city, followed by Steve and Bruce still supporting the frail looking Tony. Thor had made the conscious decision to not follow them and to instead stay behind and make sure that all of the Asgardians were okay and not too shaken up.

But before he did anything he felt like he just had to stand in the yellow grassed field amongst all the now empty emergency and work pods. He just needed a moment of calm and of nothing happening. A moment were he didn't have to think or worry. The last couple of weeks had been extremely rough, not to mention just this single day, and it honestly felt like he hadn't had a moment to just…well, not do anything.

He stood watching the small group lead Tony away. It had almost been two years since he had seen the genius, billionaire, playboy, and then he forgot the other thing Tony had described himself as all those years ago. But the point was it had been so long. Actually it had been so long for all of the team. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He should help the two fierce warrior women with attending to the Asgardians now. He had had his little moment of nothing so-

He slightly turned around and saw out of the corner of his eye that the blue girl was still standing on the side of the pod ramp. And she was staring at him. Her eyes were deep bottomless black orbs that did more than just stare at him, they stared right through him. Thor wasn't sure if it was those eyes of hers that made him instantly feel cautious or if it was her unfriendly demeanor. She wore an almost vicious frown. But if you took away those two factors she really was an interesting sight to behold. Her blue skin tones, her shiny and elegantly carved metal arm, the contrast of her old and worn metal hand, her Ravager red uniform, the machine grafted to the side of her bald head.

She certainly _was_ a sight.

Thor consciously became aware that she was eyeing him in the same way that he was eyeing her. Actually it was more like she was sizing him up with a judgmental gleam. He uncomfortably fidgeted around at her unceasing stare. "So," he started quietly. "Um, Valkyrie said that you, well, that you knew of me and my brother." The girl slowly stomped down the ramp and stood about five feet away from him. Thor could not put his finger on what it was, but something about this girl just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Your brother," she said, her voice sounding practically mechanical. "He is Loki, Prince of Asgard?"

"Yes."

She was silent and she didn't move a muscle but there was a flash of excitement or maybe it was hope, it was really hard to tell with her, that ran through her eyes for a split second before it disappeared and she went back to her unfriendly appearance. She glanced down at the grass that she stood in. "Valkyrie spoke of you and Loki in the present tense…and then Stark said he saw…" She looked back up and met Thor's eyes. Then she calmly and seriously asked, "He's alive, isn't he?"

Now Thor was confused. "Loki? Yeah, of course he's alive."

The girl seemed to let out a deep sigh of relief and take a step backwards. She muttered to herself, "I knew he had failed with the plan, both my father's and his own plans for betrayal. It was all so crazy and insane…of course he would fail. I knew he was taken back to Asgard and subjected to their justice. But-but then Thanos said that Loki had died in the world of the Dark Elves. That he had died a…but then Valkyrie and…and now you yourself said…where is he?"

Thor really was confused and he didn't know what to make of this unusual girl. She had this gruff disposition and this underlining attitude that made him not like her, but then when she had just spoken there was a true amount of concern for his brother. Genuine concern. "I'm sorry, how do you know my brother?"

The girl met his eyes again, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. She was staring at him again and for every long second that went by Thor grew more and more antsy. Boy, this girl had a knack for appearing menacing and getting under his skin. Then suddenly the girl's eyes widened with realization and they became softer. She whispered, "He never told you."

Thor shook his head. "Never told me what?"

She opened her mouth to say something but the second she did somebody shouted out, "Nebula!" At the sound of Rocket's voice, Thor spun around and saw the rabbit, no Loki said he was a raccoon, finish sprinting over with a look of urgency and surprise. He stopped a few feet away from where Thor and this girl who was apparently named Nebula stood. Rocket was panting as he said, "Nebula, didn't…expect you…to be here… _God_ , I need to breathe…"

He stopped talking and placed both hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. After a few moments of this, Rocket stood back up straight, still looking pretty winded, but he continued anyways. "I'm actually glad to see ya Nebula, cause if you're here then the Guardians gotta be here too." Nebula's lips parted again but she didn't utter a word. "Nebula? The Guardians are with you, right?" Rocket's tone suddenly had gone from hopeful and confident to borderline nervous. In the short period of time that Thor had known the rabb-raccoon he had picked up on the simple fact that Rocket was pretty much fearless. A little odd and a bit of a sarcastic asshole but… Seeing him suddenly look so scared was like a punch in the stomach. Nebula still hadn't said a word and her unfriendly look was beginning to fall and in its place was a sorrowful appearance. And it was clearly killing Rocket to not have an answer. " _Nebula?_ " he tried one more time.

"They're all gone, okay?" she practically yelled. Her sudden and unexpected outburst made Thor jump slightly and the two warrior women both paused to stop and stare, possibly looking to see if there was trouble.

But Rocket only gasped and took a step backwards, shaking his head. "What?" he whispered.

Nebula closed her eyes and said, "Thanos killed Gamora to receive the Soul Stone and the rest of them vanished into dust."

Rocket shook his head more and faster. "No, no, no, no. I, uh…I can't be all-all that's left. I just _can't_ be." He just stood there in silent shock looking smaller than usual. Thor didn't know how to help his friend. The raccoon wasn't like Loki who he could just scope up in his arms and vow to always protect. Rocket was a whole other person with his own set of complicated emotions and ways of handling a crisis and with the pain of loss. And evidently his way of dealing with the world halting news that his team was gone was to lash out. His head popped up and he pointed accusingly at Nebula. "I don't believe you. Why should I? You tried to kill me and Groot and Gamora and all of us numerous times! How do I know you're not still working with your dear old dad and that you're not gonna try and kill me and everybody else here in the-the name of that psycho?!"

Nebula did not at all react to Rocket's shouting like everyone else on the field did. In fact it seemed to harden her resolve. "I am not lying. What I said is true and if you do not believe it then suit yourself." The gravity of reality set its weight down hard on Rocket and his beady little eyes started to well up.

Thor tentatively stepped forward and reached out for Rocket. "My friend…" But that's all he got out before the raccoon turned away and ran back to the lit up city. Thor put his hand back down to his side and shook his head sadly. Damn Thanos for this. For this and every other act he was responsible for. He glanced back at Nebula and took note that she was no longer as hostile looking as she had been before. He said to her, "Should you ah, or maybe I…go after him?"

Nebula shook her head. "I have been reliably informed that I do not do well when it comes to my or other people's emotions. If you want to be my guest but…not me. Not me." There was a new air of sadness to her, a more intense and dramatic air of sadness. One filled with loss and self-loathing and hopelessness. One that was vaguely familiar to Thor.

One very similar to Loki's deep air of depression.

…

"What about Dr. Strange?" Bruce asked Tony who was sitting on one of the silver metal tables while Shuri placed a handful of the small metal beads on his deep, nasty, poorly mended wound. Ramonda helped her daughter by holding the beads while Shuri placed them where they would effectively heal Tony's wound. M'Baku stood close to the door leading in and out of Shuri's lab, giving the remaining Avengers a little privacy. And of course the remaining Avengers, after making sure Tony was in fact okay, made it their priority to find out what the hell happened to Tony and how he ended up on an abandoned planet with a metal armed blue woman. Tony had already told them all that Peter Parker, the Spider-Man, his protégé had been one of the many who had disappeared into dust. He was taking it very hard, rubbing his head, and then becoming uncharacteristically quiet. Bruce then asked about the wizard doctor he and Loki had met in New York. "Loki said you went after him. I mean obviously Thanos got the stone, but…"

Tony understood what Bruce was asking and he shook his head sadly and tiredly. "He's gone too… The damn stupid jerk." Tony squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his right hand against the metal table causing both Shuri and Ramonda to start. Tony didn't seem to notice anyone's concerned or worried glances, he just started rambling. "Strange with his inflated ego, goes on and on about how it's his duty to protect the stone and how he would save the stone over me or Peter or anyone else and you know what he does? Go ahead, guess." Nobody said a word. "He trades the stone for my life. My life! That God damn hypocrite! He makes such a big fuss and then he saves me." He shook his head again although this time it was almost in disgust. "Damn bastard…"

Bruce took a few steps back to where Natasha stood off to the sidelines next to Rhodey and Steve. As Bruce walked away from Tony, Steve stepped forward trying to carefully approach him. "Tony…I know that this is hard for you but…"

Tony brushed him off. "Yeah, yeah, I got it Paul Bunion." Tony took a deep breath and let it out almost in a huff and continued with his story, but this time he started from the beginning. "After I told Reindeer Games to get Bruce to the headquarters and assemble you guys and..." Tony glanced around the small group knowing full well that they were cut in half in size, "well, everyone else, Strange, Peter, and I were on the doughnut space ship. We took care of Squidward and we all decided to continue heading for Thanos. That's when Strange made it crystal clear that he would pick the stone to save over me or Peter. We crash landed on this big void and empty planet. It was all dusty, like a desert wasteland. There we met these really weird oddball characters who wanted to take down Thanos because he kidnapped their friend. We all made this plan to defeat Thanos and it almost worked but…" Tony swallowed and glanced down at his hands folded in his lap. "Well, there is no use going on. You all already know that we failed. And everyone except for me and Nebula are gone." He put his hands up to his face in a defeated manner.

It was extremely difficult for the small group of heroes to see their, at one time, unappointed and unofficial leader broke down to being so tired and weary. Steve placed a firm hand on Tony's shoulder and said in his soft, comforting voice, "You did your best. We all did. There was nothing else any of us could have possibly done."

Tony dropped his hands and glared at Steve with what appeared to be hostility. "Yeah, tell that to the fifteen year old who vanished in my arms Steve."

Steve blinked in slight surprise at Tony's display of total despair and anger when he spoke about the loss of the boy from Queens, but then Steve sighed knowing Tony only too well. Tony's family had been gone for a long time and he had a knack for finding and befriending people and collecting them for his makeshift family. Wasn't that what the Avengers was for Tony Stark? For all of them? Steve had never thought about Howard Stark as a family man, but he had been proven wrong and he had the sinking feeling that his thought of Tony never being the family man with kids had also been proven wrong. Tony had a kid, not a blood kid, but a kid all the same. And he had watched him disappear into dust.

Steve sat next to his friend on the table as Shuri waved her bracelet over the small beads on Tony's side and they all lit up in a blue hue. "This job was never easy, you knew that going in. Sometimes…sometimes we can't save everybody, but I think-no, I _know_ that we will figure a way to fix this."

"How?" Tony asked miserably.

"I don't know yet."

Tony sighed and rubbed his tired and teary eyes. He muttered, "I want to kill Thanos for this."

Steve glanced at Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey who all stood in their own cloud of loss and feelings of being powerless to stop Thanos and save their teammates and then to Shuri, Ramonda, and M'Baku who had lost so much themselves, their actual blood. Steve nodded in agreement with what Tony had said, remembering the fear in Bucky's eyes and the fact that he never got to say goodbye, _again_. He clenched his hands into fists. "Believe me Tony, you're not the only one."

…

Closer to the center of the city was a seven-story blue sleek building that was used as a sort of shelter. There were no homeless or poor individuals in Wakanda but the building had been built in case of hard times, whether economically or due to extreme weather or just about anything. The building had its own shield that could be brought up around it, a large supply of food and water, several hundred beds and baths, and a whole floor that was basically a hospital. In theory it could have also been used as a safe house, almost like an above the ground bunker, but when T'Challa had ordered the city of Wakanda to be evacuated, he had not ordered them to the shelter but further away from the fight still, to a neighboring city. He had wanted to ensure that the civilians would be safe and the only way to do so was to take them out of Wakanda.

That's what General Okoye told Thor and Valkyrie as they all stood in the doorway of a large sitting room, watching several Asgardian families settling in. It warmed Thor's heart to see his people safe and sound and most of all happy. Or, well, something close to it. "I want to thank you and the Princess and all of your people again for allowing us to stay here," Thor said watching a curious little girl play with a holograph on a screen that was stuck to one of the walls.

"Do not thank me," Okoye said. "Thank King T'Challa for making the offer and the Princess for continuing her brother's offer."

Valkyrie patted Okoye on the shoulder. "Well, thanks for helping us with getting everyone to the building then."

Okoye nodded with a slight smile. "Yes, of course. I was only doing what my former Queen asked of me."

Valkyrie crossed her arms. "You're one of those follow every rule, support the crown with your undying loyalty warriors, aren't you?" Okoye nodded again. Valkyrie half scoffed, "Okay then. Good for you."

"She has some trust issues when it comes to royalty," Thor said, feeling obligated to explain Valkyrie to Okoye.

Valkyrie didn't like that at all. "Don't explain me to other people," she snapped. "And I have every reason to be untrusting of royalty. My former King basically screwed me and my Valkyrie sisters over."

Okoye was silent for a second before saying with a hint of sadness, "Well, all I have to say is that I would always follow my King and support his actions." And then at the last second she added, "My only problem with the crown is Princes who think they know everything."

"I know! What is up with that?" Valkyrie exclaimed. "I mean, take this one for example," she motioned to Thor, "he thinks that he can decide what is best for me, without even consulting me."

Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I thought you weren't mad about that anymore."

"Guess what, I am."

Thor stared at Valkyrie and her brilliant brown eyes both muttering, "I should probably leave if you two are going to start bonding over "Princes who think they know everything". I have a feeling it will not make me very happy."

Okoye smiled again and Valkyrie smirked. "Yeah, alright you do that. Me and the General will just be discussing all the dumb things that you've done."

"And that's why I'm leaving." Thor left the two warrior women to discuss their problems with their Princes and already he was not feeling very happy about Valkyrie talking about him in an ill manner behind his back. Oh well. He probably deserved it for not coming to her and asking her to get on one of the emergency pods.

He walked down several inclined planes that were meant to replace stairs until he was at the bottom floor. He could have stayed in the building and checked in with everyone but he decided it was time that he go and tell Loki that the Asgardians were alive and well. It was pitch black nighttime now, but you would never know it because of all of the bright lights on the buildings. It was like this city never had an evening, it only had a never ending day. When he was approaching the black and gray sleek building that held Shuri's lab and the room he had left the sleeping Loki in, he saw that Nebula woman sitting by herself on the lit up stairs off to the side of the building. Her hands were folded together and her head lowered in a depressed manner. "Hi, there," he said, startling her. Oh great, that's just what he wanted to do. Startle and upset the girl he couldn't quite understand. "Sorry about that. Um, what are you doing?"

Nebula glared at him and said in a tone, "I'm sitting by myself sulking, what do you think I'm doing?"

Thor tried to keep his patience, although it was pretty easy to do so. After years of dealing with Loki he had become a master of dealing with smartass comments. "Ah, I see. Did you ever talk to Rocket?" Nebula shook her head no and never took her gaze away from him. "Ah, well neither did I. I should probably put that on my list of things to do." She rolled her eyes at his attempt at lightening the mood. Thor took a deep breath. "Look, I-I feel like somehow we got off on the wrong foot and that you just don't like me very much."

"I don't."

"Well, I'm glad we've cleared that up."

Nebula stood up quickly from where she had been sitting on the stairs. Even in the dark her black eyes were piercing. "After all of the years you spent ignoring Loki, why should I?"

Thor couldn't help but blink in surprise at the way she had spat that out at him, but he almost immediately took the defense. "I'm sorry, what? You have no right to say-"

"I have no right to say? To say what? What is true?"

Thor didn't know what to be more surprised by: Nebula's harsh words or her obvious caring for Loki. He rubbed his pounding temples. "Okay, seriously I have to know. How do you know my brother?" Nebula gave him one more piercing glare and then turned around and marched up the stairs. Thor was right behind her calling, "Listen to me, I am only going to ask you one more time-"

"How do I know your brother?"

Why did everybody like interrupting him? "Yes."

Nebula halted to a stop and spun around. Thor had to stop himself from running into her. She stared at him with an unreadable expression before shaking her head. "You do not want to know."

"Let me be the decider of that." Nebula continued to shake her head and she started to walk away again, but Thor grabbed ahold to her metal arm to stop her. The second he did, he regretted it. She spun back around and looked like she was just about ready to punch him in the jaw. And those eyes of hers? Yeah, they got about ten times scarier.

"Let go of me right now," she said in an eerie whisper.

He immediately let go of her arm but her scary look did not go away. "I'm sorry, I just…he's my brother and I know that he is terrified of Thanos and that you are one of the step-daughters of Thanos and I have this sinking, dreadful feeling that…"

Nebula's shoulders seemed to relax a little bit and her eyes seemed to shine with a sort of remembrance. She softly said, "Thanos found him when he had fallen from Asgard. He wanted him to help him with his "purpose" but Loki refused…and he paid for that."

Thor did not quite understand. "What do you mean?"

His borderline cluelessness angered her and she instantly rounded on him. "What do I mean? What do you think I mean?! Are you truly as witless as Loki said? Thanos had him tortured every single day for months!"

That horrible feeling Thor had suddenly doubled as his worst fears and his morbid imaginations were confirmed. Fearless, sarcastic, brilliant Loki who had turned into a trembling terrified man at the very thought of Thanos…Thor had tried very hard to not think what it meant. But he knew he would eventually find Thanos and get him to tell him why. But now he knew why. Every single day? For _months_? He had a strong urge to run back to the room he had left Loki in, wake him up, and pull him into another tight hug. Why hadn't he told him?

Thor was basically in shock, his mouth falling open slightly just staring at Nebula, who's demeanor had changed dramatically. She was no longer enraged but crestfallen. Perhaps she realized how brutally blunt she had been. "I…I'm sorry… I just…Where did you say he was?"

Thor stared at her for another second or so before clearing his throat and replying, "He's um, I'll just ah, show you."

…

Do you know the feeling when you have woken up but you still have your eyes closed and you are still in a restful place, somewhere in the middle of completely awake and completely asleep? That was where Loki was right now. He hadn't realized he had even fallen asleep until this very moment of being half-awake. It had been a door creaking open and then shut that had awoken him. What time was it? Was the horrible day finally over? He swallowed, feeling how dry and sore his throat was. He should really just cave in and either heal it himself or have Shuri do it, but as he slowly woke up he remembered why he hadn't wanted it healed in the first place. He felt a gentle, yet firm hand on his shoulder, a cold hand.

 _Thor?_

More than likely, but why was his hand so cold?

"Loki?"

At the sound of the soft metallic voice Loki woke up completely. His eyes popped opened. He was on a cushiony couch facing the back so he couldn't see who was in the room with him just yet. Not that he needed to see her to know. He slowly rolled over onto his back, taking note that he was in a totally different room and that he was not crazy after all.

"Nebula?" he said in a still hoarse voice. It was unbelievable. Completely bloody unbelievable. Here she stood before him, staring down at him with those beautiful deep eyes of hers. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

"No," she said softly again.

"Then-just," he rubbed his head slightly, " _how?_ "

Nebula took a step backwards and started slowly pacing around the room. Loki could only stare at her. She hadn't changed a bit. She looked exactly the same as she had all those years ago when they had said their rocky goodbye. He took it back, there was one thing different. Gone was her purple top and black pants. Instead she wore a top to bottom red uniform. It looked like the uniforms that those Ravager thieves wore, but he doubted that she would join them. "I was fighting against Thanos with my sister's friends and a trio of humans. After the snap only I and a man named Stark were left."

"Tony Stark?" he asked surprised. How was it that he never ceased to be surprised?

"Yes."

Loki sighed. "Sure, why not. Go on."

"Anyways, we sent out a distress signal and the Asgardians came-"

"Wait. The refugees? They're alive and here?"

"Yes," Nebula said, this time with a little bit of an underlining tone.

He hadn't meant to interrupt again, he just had to make sure he heard her right. Thank the stars for having the Asgardians be alive. The loss of them would have been hard on not only him but also on Thor. Wait, where was Thor? Nebula was giving him a slightly annoyed look. She really didn't change. "I'm sorry, I interrupted."

"A little bit yes. Point is, Stark learned that the rest of his team was here and so, here we are." The rest of the team? Of course, the Avengers must have been thrilled to see their leader (or was the dear Captain their leader?) and they all must be somewhere having another regrouping conference, deciding what it was they were to do next. Loki sat up with a light groan and rubbed his tender throat. Nebula saw the horrible black and blue bruise on his throat and neck for the first time and her eyes widened "Are you alright?"

"Of course," he muttered as he sat with his feet back firmly on the ground. "I mean, besides the fact that half the population of the world is gone and that my head was almost ripped off like a daisy by your dad, yeah, I'm fine."

"Still the God of Dumb Quips, I see."

"Mischief," he corrected. "God of _Mischief_."

She half smiled, it was so nice to see her even half smile. Her resting expression was usually angry contempt or deep sadness. And since nothing else seemed to change, he doubted that that had changed either. Her half smile disappeared. "You know that for a couple of years I thought you were dead."

"Oh," he said feeling guilty that he was the cause of her now sad face. "You um, heard about the whole dark world thing then?"

"Yes," she said with her sassy and feisty tone. "You were supposedly stabbed through the heart and died a hero's death."

Was it crazy that he had missed her sass and feistiness? "Yup, that's the one. Um, sorry?"

Nebula sighed and sat down in a wooden chair that was right next to the couch. "I know why you faked your death. It was to get away from my father's inevitable wrath. I can't be mad at that."

" _Well,_ actually I didn't fake my death." Nebula's eyes narrowed in confusion. "I just sort of miraculously survived and why would you be mad if I had faked my own death?" Nebula didn't answer, she just stared down at her folded hands. He could see the faint light reflecting off of her arm and her hand. Wait-her hand. It was a duller and dingier metal then what he had remembered it being and the corners of it were covered in dirt and grime. "New hand?"

She half smiled again. "Always so observant."

"I healed two of your fingers, I know that is not the same metal. Besides you would never allow your original hand to get so dirty and filled with all that disgusting grime."

"Always so perceptive."

"About everyone but myself." He tore his gaze from her for a moment and then he looked back at her with a bit of remorse. "I…I'm sorry about how we parted ways. I was-you were right about Thanos and the Mind Stone and I was just-"

"A stubborn idiot?"

"…Not exactly what I was going to say, but sure."

"It's just good to see you out from under _his_ control." She didn't have to say "Thanos's" or "father's" control, the way she spat the word "his" like it was venom was more than enough to confirm that they were in fact talking about the mad Titan.

Loki smiled, realizing that she was free from him as well if she had been fighting with Stark and her sister's friends, also known as Rocket's little group of people. "You too."

She shook her head and closed her eyes in a tired way. "I was trying to kill Thanos before this whole mess with him collecting the stones himself even began. I was so close Loki, I swear to you I was. But…for a split second I lost my nerve and he was able to subdue me." She paused only long enough to let out a shaky breath. "I was stuck there on that damn ship of his for over a year. I always hated it, but I never truly realized how hellish it is when you're a prisoner. And there was no more talking. Before I had the prisoners but this time I had nothing."

Loki stared at the blue woman, his heart bleeding for her. He knew what it was like to be a prisoner on that ship and he doubted that Thanos would hold back the torment for his step-daughter. But it wasn't even that fact that made him reach over and grab Nebula's metal wrist in a compassionate sort of way. It was because he knew how much the talking meant to her. It was her only way of coping, the only comfort she probably had ever had. And Thanos took that away from her. She stared at him in bewilderment when his fingers wrapped around her cold wrist. "You can talk to me," he whispered. "You can always talk to me."

There was an old saying, eyes are windows to the soul or something like that. And Loki had to believe it, because what Nebula lacked when it came to speaking or expressing her emotions in the traditional way, she made up for it with those entrancing eyes of hers. An outsider looking in would assume that Nebula was still staring at Loki in bewilderment but someone who knew the woman like he did could see the hope, the calmness, and the relief run through her eyes. She swallowed and blinked her eyes a few times, pushing back the very visible tears. "So what do you wish to talk about?"

"Anything at all."

She was quiet for a moment, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Okay, I got something. How did you miraculously survive being stabbed through the heart? I know that you are virtually unkillable but, that seems a little ridiculous."

"Unkillable? Hmm. I like the sound of that. As for this whole "stabbed through the heart" thing, you really need to check your resources Nebula, because I wasn't stabbed through the heart."

"Heart, chest, it's the same thing."

"It's really not."

Loki was still reeling from what would probably be known as the worst day of his life and there was a part of him that still just wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere and do nothing but feel the weight of guilt and self-loathing because he deserved it still, but he wasn't going to do that right now. Nebula was here, the blue feisty girl with cold hands after all these years of being apart. And they started talking, started getting lost in the other person's stories, like nothing had changed. Only things had changed. There was no one coming to take Loki away for his daily torture and Nebula didn't have to slip away before one of her siblings discovered her.

The way they both saw it, the talking never had to stop.

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

 _Author's Note Again:_ _ **ATTENTION!**_ _I want your opinions. I have four working titles for Chapter Eight and I decided to put it to a vote. You want to be a deciding factor in the chapter's title then either leave me a review or PM me. The titles are:_

 _Coping Mechanisms and Heated Arguments_

 _Budding Friendships Contribute to Breakthroughs_

 _Love is for Children_

 _(and last but not least) Tears for Those Who "Died"_

 _I would really like some feedback on this. If not, that's cool I'll just pick one. I should have the next chapter up in a week or week and a half, so figure that's the time limit._

 _Don't worry, I'm going to get more into Thor's reaction to learning what happened to Loki and Nebula's dealing with the loss of Gamora in the next chapter. Scout's honor! (Seriously, years ago I was a Girl Scout…) But back to this chapter, I'm sorry I made Rocket suffer and I'm really sorry I made Tony suffer with the loss of Peter. I'm terrible, I know. But hey, at least I didn't go into detail of how Peter disappeared like he did in the movie. Now that was heartbreaking to watch._

 _This chapter was really weird to write. Besides the fact that I was on vacation when I was writing the first half, this chapter was the first chapter to have Loki show up only at the end of it. Like really weird. I didn't even realize it till I was writing the intro to his scene and I was like, "Oh my God, I haven't written from his perspective this whole chapter." And I know I wrote about him, but it's not the same. So sorry about the lack of Loki. But hey, he and Nebula reunited so that's cool, right?_

 _Has anyone seen "How Avengers: Infinity War Should Have Ended"? If you haven't, leave right now and go watch it on YouTube. If you have, wasn't it amazing?! I think it was one of the best videos HISHE has ever done. Like seriously, the best!_

 _Anyways, I just want to thank everyone again for all the support and attention that has been given to my little story. You people are awesome! Thank you for everything. Peace!_


	9. Chapter Eight

_Author's Note: Word of warning this is the longest "Author's Note" ever. So, sorry._

 _The votes are in. And I just want to say thank you to all my voters!_

 _(Einhornsirup, Frida521)Tears for Those Who "Died"=2_

 _(_ _Arwen347,_ _BenevolentCupboardhatch, Zhalo Shadowcell)Coping Mechanisms and Heated Arguments=2 ½_

 _(Cookies, heartnut, JemiLeaMallari)Budding Friendships Contribute to Breakthroughs=3_

 _(Arwen347, Lavendor Queen, thomas again, TripleLLL)Love is for Children=3 ½_

 _And a special mention to Captain Spunker who said to pick whichever one best fits the overall content of the chapter. So the winner is Love is for Children. Cool. So, yeah._

 _Before we go on to the chapter I would like to take a moment to have a special shout out. Once upon a time when I had a different fan fiction account with three not very popular stories, I used to PM each and every reviewer for my stories and thank them or answer their questions or whatever. But with the vast amount of reviewers and the high demand for chapters and you know, life, I haven't really had time to do anything like that._

 _So, first let me say I am truly happy to have now one hundred and seventeen reviews and that I am not playing favorites. I can't PM everyone at this point and some of my reviewers I don't even know who they are (because they didn't login and are "Guests") so I just want to have a shout out to those who gave me long, thoughtful reviews that made my day or made me laugh. And I cannot reiterate this enough, I love all my reviews and the fact that people would go out of their way to give little old me a compliment is amazing. But anyways, shout out time:_

 _AnnaTheEmporium, Arwen347, AutoConBuddy, , BenevolentCupboardhatch, Captain Spunker, Cookies, DXRULES103, elfqueen13, fan girl 666, fan-de-carlisle-cullen, Frida521, Genesis09, JemiLeaMallari, Lavendor Queen, LeiaOrgana457HP, lilyxsnapex4eva, Miss Hiraya, OrangeWolf4, PhoenixFantastic, RedHeadLena, Shadow Lily Potter, thomas again, thomas w, xXCinderzXx, and Zhalo Shadowcell._

 _Many thanks to tyry95 for telling me about the misspelling of "Heimdall" in the Prologue and to whoever the Guest was who told me that Wakandans should not be described as African Americans but just as Africans. (Sometimes I have dumb moments.)_

 _Extreme special shout out to the following:_

 _To heartnut who said I should send my story when it is complete to Tom Hiddleston. That made me the happiest person on Earth. :)_

 _To TripleLLL who has given me a review on every single chapter. I always look forward to what you'll say next and I love that you were my hundredth reviewer!_

 _And to Einhornsirup who asked what my favorite part of HISHE's Infinity War was. Answer: It was a four-way tie._

 _1\. Nebula taking down Thanos like the boss she is._

 _2._ " _Don't worry everyone, I got this. Mirror Dimension! And gone! Yes! Wong!"_

 _3\. Rocket stealing Bucky's arm and then trying to sell it to the cast sitting in the café._

 _4._ " _Hello everyone! I'm back! Have I got a story for you! I faked my own death, again."_

 _And I just have to say it again because I'm paranoid, I love you all! If I didn't mention your name, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your review. Honest! (Don't be mad at me? Please?)_

 _So…now that all that jazz is done with, we can continue on with the story. Enjoy!_

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 _Chapter Eight: Love is for Children_

Time was being odd again. The hours just seemed to slip past as if they were minutes and before either Loki or Nebula knew it, the sun was lazily starting to come up over the horizon, painting the sky a light blue and bright yellow. They had stayed up and talked for over seven hours. Well, what could they say? They had been apart for nearly six years and they had a lot of catching up to do.

And there was no rush in doing so.

If they ever stopped the reality of the situation would probably set down on both of them hard and they would be back in the same boat they had been in before: stuck in a deep cloud of depression.

"So, you traveled halfway around the galaxy to find your sister in order to finally defeat her in combat and then you…spared her life and you helped kill her boyfriend's dad, the giant planet?" Loki asked with a hint of wonder. He had to have heard her wrong.

"Yes."

Or maybe not. They both sat on the floor of the large room with deep gray colored walls and small golden lights placed on the ceiling. The floor was carpeted with thick, soft, fury black material. It was like a large woolly blanket. Nebula sat with her legs crossed about four feet away from Loki who had his legs to his chest. "I'm sorry but, wasn't Gamora the sister you hated? Why would you change your mind after all of these years?"

"Wasn't Thor the brother you wanted and tried to kill?"

"Okay, point taken."

Nebula sighed, "I…I always wanted a sister." She didn't say anything for over a minute, her words just hung there in the air. Loki didn't reply, not wanting to push her. "Out of all those horrible people who were my "siblings" Gamora was the most tolerable, but she never once reframed when it came to beating me in combat. And every time she did…" Nebula clenched her metal hand into a tight fist.

"I get it," Loki whispered. He didn't want her to feel like she had to go down her awful memory lane again to make him understand. He did. And he wasn't sure he wanted to hear about how Thanos would put sister against sister and then replace a part of the loser, always Nebula, with machinery again. During his time on Thanos's ship he had often had a morbid sense of curiosity when it came to Nebula. He truly wanted to know how Thanos was responsible for her having non-flesh and bone parts. But now that he knew what Nebula had gone through for all those years…it made his time on the ship seem like a walk through the park.

"Killing Quill's dad or whatever he was, was just to ensure that the universe would survive. It's a little difficult to seek revenge on your insane father if the galaxy is destroyed."

"I'm sure."

"And what can I say? Gamora and I were trying to be, well, she is my sister." Nebula paused for a moment before adding quietly, "She _was_ my sister." Despite the desperate attempt to keep their conversation away from their hardships it was unavoidable. Loki had told her about the death of his mother and Odin and Nebula told him that Thanos had killed Gamora and made all of those Guardian people that Rocket talked about vanish. Loki was about to say something, what he did not know. Perhaps something comforting or maybe he was going to change the subject and lead them both away from the pain. But before he could Nebula muttered, "Oh, I should probably mention that I kind of yelled at your brother."

"How do you "kind of" yell at Thor? You either did or you didn't."

"Well, I did."

Loki smirked, picturing Nebula shouting at Thor who probably had that classic confused look on his face. "I am so sorry that I missed that."

Nebula glanced at him and the serious look she had made his smirk disappear. "You never told him about what had happened on Thanos's ship."

Now Loki didn't understand where she was going with this or why she had brought it up. "No, I didn't."

"I figured as much. I kind of-I _did_ tell him."

 _I could not have heard her right._

"You…you told him?"

"A little bit, yes."

Loki felt a jab of worry and anxiety in his stomach. He didn't hold back his concern feelings when he asked, "What did you say?"

And Nebula, as brutally and bluntly honest as ever, answered, "I said that Thanos had you tortured every day for months."

Loki stared at her, feeling the anxiety spread. Then he sighed almost frustrated. "Oh Nebula, I really wished you hadn't done that."

"Look he may be a brainless jerk, but he is your brother. He had a right to know."

"Yes," he snapped back, "but _I_ am the one who has the right to tell or not to tell whoever I want."

"It just slipped out. I was mad, okay?"

"Yes, I know. I'm not upset, I just…" he sighed again, "Stars above, this is going to make life so much more difficult. Because he's not going to drop it." No. Knowing Thor, he would question him constantly with that worried look plastered all over his face. Loki hated that look. And if Thor knew about what had happened, however little, then he had to see how weak Loki truly was. That's how Loki felt. Weak. Weak for ever being put in the horrible situation in the first place. And he wasn't sure he was ready for Thor to go back to looking at him differently.

Nebula crossed her arms. "If your brother did drop it, I would probably punch him in the jaw."

Loki had to chuckle at that. "Now that I would love to see."

She had a glimmer of a smile. "You are so confusing, you know that? You go from mischievous to depressed to self-loving to self-loathing. I'm no expert, but I think that means you have some issues."

"Only some?"

"Don't get cute with me," she said in a tone, but she still had that small smile making it obvious that she wasn't too upset with him or anything like that. "You know I'm right."

"Do I?"

"I was right about Thanos and the Mind Stone, you said so yourself. Who's to say that I'm wrong about this?"

"Just because you got two things right in the past does not mean you are right now." Nebula raised her eyebrows at him expectedly. "Yes, alright, those two things were pretty monumental things but as you said yourself, you knew Thanos much longer then I had. Just because you have a perceptiveness about him does not mean that you have one about me." Nebula didn't say a word but she just continued eyeing him with a, really, are you serious, look. Loki sighed, annoyed with himself. " _Fine_ , you probably have a perceptiveness over me too, because you know me very well. But-"

"Are you done yet?"

" _No_."

Nebula shrugged. "Fine. That's fine. It's kind of fun to watch you have an argument with yourself."

"I'm not-" He stopped himself from going on. This was pointless. Why get all worked up over something that she clearly was right about? "Alright, I yield. Yes, I am inconsistent sometimes when it comes to my emotions and actions. It's a personality flaw. _Okay?_ Are we done?" Nebula half smirked and glanced at the ground. "What?"

"You make it sound so bad to not be one hundred percent perfect. No one is you know."

He sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, I know, I just-I'm not-"

Nebula raised both her hands in front of her, as if to stop him. "Okay, clearly this is a subject for another time. How about we talk about something else?"

"What a wonderful idea," he said, very glad to change the subject. Getting into his self-esteem issues _was_ a talk for another time and even though he trusted Nebula, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her all about that mess. "What haven't we talked about so far?"

"We have not discussed how it is daytime and that we've been up for seven plus hours."

"True. Not really a great conversation starter though."

"There is no pleasing you."

"Satisfaction is not in my nature."

"Really? I couldn't tell." Nebula uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her on the fury carpet. "Should you check in with the Asgardians?"

Loki had almost forgotten about the refugees. It was a miracle that they all, or at least half of them, were still alive and not just alive, but here. Thor must have been ecstatic to see most of his people safe and sound. And of course Valkyrie. Nebula had told him that the loud mouth warrior had survived the snap. On one hand, he was glad because it was obvious Thor felt something for the woman, but on the other hand he could just picture her storming into the room at any second and start yelling at him for tricking her to get onto the pod ship. And he wasn't too thrilled to have to potentially deal with her wrath. The last time he pissed her off she had knocked him out and tied him in some chains that were enchanted to prevent magic users from using their magic. In order words, he was stuck where she had left him until she had come back with Thor and Bruce.

He stretched out his legs as well and then he stood up. "Yes. I should do that." Nebula nodded understanding. "Want to come with?"

Her head popped back up and she shook her head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? I am literally just going where the Asgardians are, checking up on them, and then leaving. Besides, I do not know where this shelter is that you said they were in."

"You could ask your brother," she grumbled.

"Yes, I could. But I'm not going to." Nebula sighed in annoyance. "So, you'll just have to lead me to them."

"Or you could ask virtually anyone who lives here."

"Again, yes, I could. But again, I'm-"

"You're not going to. I get it, I get it. _Fine_." She stood up and half glared at him. "For being like a thousand years old, you can act like such a twelve year old."

He laughed at that. "I know it's not meant to be a compliment, but I'm going to take it as one."

Nebula rolled her eyes and stalked to the door. "Come on." He followed close behind still wearing a smirk. "And stop smirking like an idiot!" He laughed again.

…

Nebula had lead him to the seven-story blue building near the heart of Wakanda, filled with just as wondrous tech as the rest of the city. They walked up the inclined planes to the different floors and all Loki did was pop his head through the opened doors to see how everyone was doing. The verdict? Well, everyone who he saw and was still here was doing well. The refugees were a smaller group then what they had started out as, but it was good to see those who remained alive and well. It filled him with an odd feeling. It was like relief but also happiness. He was just glad that his people were safe.

 _My people?_

He wasn't technically an Asgardian, at all, but he felt that he was one and that they were his people. It was dumb. After everything he had done, the Asgardians would be fools to want him as part of them. And also there was that whole thing of them hating Frost Giants so…

"How much longer?" Nebula asked from his side.

"Just a minute. I'm almost done." If he had left at that moment he probably wouldn't have gone into the last room to the left on the sixth floor and seen Valkyrie sitting at a silver metal table with her feet perched on the edge of the table, cleaning her sword. The second her saw her, he tried to quickly back out of the room but Nebula was in the way and he almost stepped on her foot.

"Hey, watch it," she grumbled, and that got Valkyrie's attention.

The warrior woman glanced up, saw Loki, and set her sword aside with a semi-threatening look. "Well, look who's alive."

Loki glanced back at Nebula. "Now you've done it." Nebula threw her arms in the air with a, what are you talking about, look. Loki faced Valkyrie again and stated, "Glad to see the Asgardians are alive even if that means you too."

Valkyrie blinked unimpressed. "Wow. Was that you're attempt at hostility, because it needs work. And I'm sure you know it, but what's up with that bruise?"

Loki stepped further into the room, approaching the table where the woman sat lazily. "The battle was difficult and very nearly deadly. Now, should I be worried that you will try to hit me?"

Valkyrie shook her head no. "No. I'm madder at Thor than anything else."

"Good."

"That doesn't mean I'm overly pleased with you either."

"I know, but as long as I don't have to look over my shoulder for your wrath…" That was the last thing he wanted to do. To have the fierce war loving Valkyrie plotting to get back at him, in however small way, was not something to look forward to. At that moment he noticed the equally fierce General Okoye standing in the corner of the room near the large window. "Hello," he said to the General who just gave him that famous stare of hers.

Valkyrie smirked. "She's got to have the best death stare in all of the nine realms."

Okoye turned slightly to look at Valkyrie, her death stare turning to a friendly look. "I don't know, you have a pretty good one yourself." Valkyrie chuckled at the complement.

Loki chuckled in amusement. "I knew you two would get along wonderfully."

Valkyrie frowned not understanding so she turned back to the General. "What is he going on about?"

The General answered, "Before the battle began, he said that we would get along with each other because we both were warriors that protected the crown and we do not like him," she pointed at Loki, "very much."

"Oh, then yes." Valkyrie turned back to face Loki and folded her hands behind her head. "We do get along in that sense. Although, not liking lackey here is not that original of a character trait."

"His name is Loki," Nebula said in that gruff and sassy way that Loki had grown to love. He hadn't realized that she had followed him all of the way into the room and was now standing next to him with her arms crossed. He wasn't sure what he liked better, the fact that Nebula had spoken up for him or Valkyrie's surprised look that Nebula had done so.

"Yeah, I realize that," Valkyrie said. "Calling him lackey is just a thing I do to get under his skin." Nebula did not reply but those transfixing eyes of hers set their sights on staring Valkyrie down. And for the first time since Loki had met her on Sakaar, Valkyrie appeared to not have any witty come back or threat to say at Nebula's stare. In fact she seemed startled by the glare.

Loki half smiled and glanced between the three women in the room and mussed, "Personally out of the three of you, I think that dear Nebula has the best death stare. But you know, that is only my opinion." After a minute or so, Nebula decided she was done and slowly stalked back to the door to leave.

 _I guess we're leaving._

That was probably a good thing. Watching the three women go into a glaring contest sounded like loads of fun but it would probably lead to an argument at some time. And star's help the world if Nebula, Valkyrie, and General Okoye got into an argument. Besides, he had checked in with the Asgardians and they all seemed well so that was that. He joined Nebula in leaving the room but before he walked completely out, he turned back to the two warrior women and said in passing as a way to say goodbye, "General, Brunnhilde."

He hurried out the door and raced through the hallway a bit before he even heard Valkyrie shout out, "Don't you ever call me Brunnhilde!"

Nebula glanced at Loki. "What did you do now?"

"Oh, nothing. I just couldn't resist that. Speaking of which, if you ever want to get under Valkyrie's skin just call her Brunnhilde."

"Why?"

"That is her real name and apparently she does not like it very much."

Nebula half smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." As they exited the blue building, they both saw that the sun had risen in the sky even more. It was a beautiful, warm, and almost hopeful beacon that seemed to state that it was a new day and anything was possible. A new day it was, but the hope for anything to be possible was lost in the reality of the situation. "Looks like it will be a nice day," Nebula muttered to herself. "You must hate the heat here though."

"I'm not a fan, no. But I think after all the years of having sometimes blistering summers on Asgard have helped with my adaptability to warmer weather." As they strolled somewhat causally back to the black building, they noticed Rocket off to the side of the street they walking through. He was sitting alone glaring miserably at the ground. "Should we say something to him?" Loki asked Nebula, slowing down his walking pace so he wouldn't pass the raccoon.

She stopped walking completely. "Since when did you get involved when it came to comforting strangers?"

"Since like yesterday. Also he was somewhat nice to me when I was dealing with my own problems, I feel like I should do the same. Or something."

"Suit yourself, but I think I'll head back to the room."

"Why?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know me better than most people, Loki. I do not do well when it comes to emotions. And I was the one who had to tell him that the Guardians were gone in the first place. He would not be happy to see me."

Loki slightly nodded. "Alright. Well…I will just do this and then I will be back shortly."

"Okay."

"Alright."

 _You are going to see her again in less than two minutes. Part ways already!_

He awkwardly waved goodbye and stepped back to head where Rocket was. It was odd. He wanted to see how the raccoon was dealing with his losses but he really did not want to leave Nebula's side. Odd, very odd. "Hello," he said stepping closer to the sidelines where Rocket sat.

"Hey," Rocket muttered.

"Nebula told me what happened," he cleared his throat, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Understandable, I guess." He glanced down and noticed that Rocket was grabbing fistfuls of the yellow dry looking grass that was growing along the sidelines of the abandoned street and tossing them aside. He looked down the street and saw small piles of uprooted grass. Evidently Rocket had been at this for a while. "I'm sorry, but why exactly are you uprooting grass and then throwing it to the side?"

"Not everyone can take out their anger by destroying a freakin' room." Rocket dug his fingers and nails into the dirt and threw another bit of grass and roots with all his strength and it went to the other side of the road.

"Ah, I see…So, I'm just trying to understand. You were upset, no doubt, and then you thought to yourself…destroy the grass?"

Rocket looked up at him for the first time since he came over. "I don't see why it's any of your concern."

"I suppose it is not my concern but I-"

"But nothing. I don't need some eccentric green clothes wearing jackass to be making jokes when I'm dealing with all this shit."

"I'm not-"

"You just did with the grass."

"Okay, but it was not my intent to-"

"Yeah, whatever." Rocket got to his feet and stomped away in a huff. Loki rubbed his forehead.

 _Well, that was a disaster._

He honestly did not think he had been too jokey or insensitive but, who knows? Maybe he was. Or maybe Rocket really didn't need to talk to anyone right now and he just needed some time to be alone. He decided not to go after him and to head back to the room. He might just catch up with Nebula before she even got to the room.

When he climbed up the stairs off to the side of the black sleek building where he and Bucky had formerly been acquainted, he saw the blonde ex-assassin sitting on the little stone wall that ran alongside the concrete bride that lead to the landing pad where the Quinjet was still parked. "Red."

Her head spun to look at him and then gave him a small nod. "Loki." Natasha appeared to be both tired and stressed out. Not a surprise really after everything that had happened only the day before. She crossed her arms and moved around so she was still sitting on the wall, but facing Loki. "Wha'cha you doing out here?"

He was slightly taken aback by the question, since the two of them had never engaged in small talk before. Maybe this was the beginnings of them eventually talking about where they were supposed to go from here. After all, she saved his life. Loki sighed. He was thinking too much again. "Nebula and I went to see how the Asgardians were and then I was trying to talk with Rocket."

"Rocket is the raccoon right?"

"Correct. Nebula said that his group of friends all disappeared after the snap. I thought I would try…" he drifted off not really wanting to talk about the rest of what happened. "What are you doing out here? I would have thought that with Stark back the Avengers would be regrouping again."

She started to chuckled. "Yeah. You're right, but it wasn't very enjoyable. Tony and Steve love to get into some pretty heated arguments. So, I thought I would take a break from that and just wander around. I kind of hoped that I would run into you." Loki blinked his eyes at that but before he could reply, Natasha continued with, "I see you still have your war wounds."

"Yes, well," he unconsciously reached for his tender and still very sore throat, "um, I never did thank you for what you did."

Natasha nodded glancing down at the cement. "Yeah. I just…don't worry about it… Your welcome." It was the first time he had seem the usually well put together, ten steps ahead of everyone else agent seem so flustered and unsure of herself. Maybe she wasn't sure what saving him meant either.

He glanced down at the cement too. "Guess we're not going to talk about if we can trust one other?"

"I mean, if you want to-"

"No. No, I don't. I was just asking for your benefit."

Natasha nodded. "Oh. Okay. Cool…" That seemed to be the end of the conversation but then she sighed. "Look, I know what I said at the base and I know how I felt about you, how I still feel about you, but…"

"You are the hero, Agent Romanoff. You would save anyone in trouble. Even me."

"Maybe." She looked him right in the eye. "Or maybe I saw a guy trying to protect his friends about to get himself killed and I intervened."

They really could not go back to where they were before. How they saw each other was so drastically different now. But instead of continuing with this conversation Loki backtracked to something Natasha had said. "Why did you want to run into me again?"

"Oh, I was just curious."

"About?"

"About the nature of your, um, relationship with Nebula."

Loki blinked a few times. "…What?"

She shrugged. "She's the first machine based person that you met that you were talking about, right? And you two obviously have history. What kind of history is the question."

Loki knew he was giving her a confused look with his mouth open. "… _What?_ "

Natasha lost her patience. "Are you two an item or not?"

That's what she thought? She thought that they-oh for star's sake, give him a break. He swallowed and thought how best to reply to her ridiculous question and then he thought of it. "What did you say to me when I asked you if you were in love with Agent Barton?"

"Love is for children."

"Exactly." Loki had never ever thought about having romantic mushy love. He had trouble with just love from family or friends and he was so complicated and inconsistent that he doubted that anybody would be capable of falling in love with him. And he wasn't even sure if he was able to fall for anyone. Besides, what was that type of love anyways? Something that married couples had and then it became a waiting game to see who despised who first. Not that his mother and Odin hadn't had a happy marriage. They always seemed to get along. He didn't know, he just never thought much of all that romantic stuff.

Natasha as if reading his mind, right on cue said, "Romantic love or not, she cares about you. You see that, right?"

Yes, he did. And it was slightly surprising. They had not been friends during his time on Thanos's ship, or that's what she had told him, and yet here they were acting like old friends. If he was being honest to himself, he thought of her as his friend. The closest friend he ever had. He suddenly realized he hadn't said anything a long time. But what was he supposed to say, certainly none of the things that had been running through his head. So he just shook his head and started to walk away. "Thank you for the conversation, Red. It was very odd."

"Maybe, but it was _so_ much better than the one between Tony and Steve."

He chuckled. "I can just about imagine the drama." Then he left the blonde ex-assassin and headed back to the room where Nebula was no doubt waiting for him.

…

Bruce didn't know why he needed to be here. He totally did not need to be here in the middle of this fight. In fact, if he wasn't so exhausted he would have told Rhodey to come with him and they could find Natasha and let Tony and Steve argue it out among themselves.

"Look, Tony, I get it-"

"Really? You do? Tell me what you get."

Steve inhaled trying not to yell. "You're hurting, but if you haven't noticed everyone's hurting. We cannot just go guns blazing into space and hunt down Thanos."

"Why not?" Tony asked in his usual irresponsible way, although this time his tone was laced with anger. "You said that we were going to figure out a way to fix this. Best thing I can come up with is we track him down, attack him, take the Gauntlet, and bring everyone back."

"Tony, listen to me-"

"How 'bout no."

"Getting everyone who is still alive killed is not going to bring Peter back."

"Don't you dare-"

"We have a responsibility to the people who are still here on this planet."

Steve was holding fast that the Avengers needed to be on Earth to help prevent mass panic, but Tony was dead set on getting revenge on Thanos and somehow miraculously bringing everyone who disappeared back. Both plans had their drawl backs and their good points, but honestly Bruce was too tired to care or to put in his two cents. So he just slouched over the silver table he sat at watching the two leaders of the Avengers go back and forth on what they were supposed to do, while his headache got larger and larger. He never got that bottle of aspirin that he had wanted. Everyone in the room probably needed it. Maybe Shuri had some or maybe she could just stick some of those metal beads to the temples of everyone's heads.

Shuri had left with her mother and M'Baku not too long after healing Tony's wound. The young genius girl and her mother had left to finally mourn properly and to get some rest. M'Baku had to take care of his Jabari tribe and he felt that he wanted to check in with the rest of the Wakandan warriors. M'Baku might have been a little overbearing and even a little more obnoxious but he was a good man and leader. He technically wasn't the leader of the entirety of Wakanda but…boy, he sometimes acted like it.

Tony who was still glaring at Steve, let out a deep breath. "You know, you and I can go around and around on this forever probably and not get any closer to figuring this out. I mean, we've done that before, haven't we?"

Steve walked around the table and stood closer to the window looking out over the city. "I don't mean to fight, I just think that we need to focus our attention here before going after Thanos without any sort of plan."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and said defiantly, "I have a plan: attack."

Steve pressed his fingers into his temples and muttered, "Tony, you and I both know that's not good enough."

"Maybe. But I already had this great plan laid out and I lost. You had your great plan laid out and you lost. Maybe we just need to, I don't know, change it up. Do something so crazy that it's bound to work."

"Is that what's going through your head?" Steve asked in a tone. "The crazier the better and maybe somehow luck will be on our side?" Tony shrugged. Steve shook his head. "That is so naïve and I know that you know that."

"Do I?" Tony snapped. "Every second we waste-don't you see that I'm just trying to get…" He shook his head, apparently too mad to go on. He then glanced at Rhodey standing near the door and Bruce sitting at the table and from his surprised look, Bruce could tell that he had forgotten that they were both still in the room. Tony focused his sights on Bruce. "What do you think?"

Bruce sat up straight. "What?"

"What is your opinion on this? Should we stay here and help the people of Earth or should we try to defeat Thanos and bring back those who are gone, therefore we forgo the whole preventing the mass hysteria that Cap is so damn worried about."

Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"You know how long it has been since I've slept? You two do realize its morning, right? I am in no mood to try and think about this. And don't pull me into this drama between you guys and make me be the tiebreaker. That's just mean." Tony tilted his head to the side and gave Bruce an odd look and Steve nodded understandingly. At that moment, Bruce saw Thor walk past the door. "Hey, Thor!"

Everyone in the room jumped and Thor came back to the doorway, taking one step into the room. "What?"

"Hey, can you help these guys," Bruce pointed to Tony and Steve, "with their problem of deciding what to do next?"

Rhodey scoffed from where he was standing. "Way to get the attention off of you and onto someone else."

Bruce raised his eyebrows at Rhodey. "Would you like to put in your thoughts on the matter?"

"Not really."

"Well, then Thor can-" He glanced at Thor and he had to do a double take. The gruff and strong man for some reason looked so lost and small. He looked like someone had told him the worst thing in the entire world and he had no idea how to process it. "Are you okay?"

Tony and Steve both looked to the God man and saw what Bruce saw. "Thor?" Steve asked taking a step towards him. "Is everything alright with the Asgardians?" Thor was glaring at the floor and did not answer Steve's question. "Thor?"

"Hmm?" he asked, still in his own world.

"You seem a little out of sorts, Point Break," Tony said.

Thor nodded his head and said quietly, "I haven't really slept. At all. I've just been…thinking." He looked up and seemed to realize he was in the room for the first time. "I'm sorry, did you all want something?"

Steve shook his head softly. "No, we're fine. Are you?"

"Yeah, sure, I just need to, um, keep thinking. Well…I should be, uh…yeah." He turned around and left the room with that lost hurt look still written all over his face.

Tony glanced between the three other men in the room. "That was weird. Right? I know I haven't seen the guy in like two years but that was weird right?"

Bruce nodded. "A little bit yes." It was extremely weird. Thor wasn't one to hold back his feelings on something, he was a very open person. And he had already expressed his feelings on what he thought they should do when it came to Thanos and he had been a lot less vengeful acting when Valkyrie and the Asgardians arrived. So something had to happen to make him be in this weird funk of his. What could have happened to make the mighty Thor seem so lost? Bruce stood from his chair. "You know what guys, I think I'm going to see if he's alright."

Steve nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Yeah. And hey, if you two," he glanced between Tony and Steve, "still need an unwilling tiebreaker, why don't you just ask Rhodey where he stands with this whole "what do we do next" dilemma?"

Rhodey threw his hands in the air. "Seriously? What did I ever do to you, Bruce? I don't want to be dragged in the middle of this either."

"Sorry," Bruce muttered as he walked away from the drama and stress that seemed to follow Tony and Steve around. He went in the direction Thor had when he had left and it took about ten minutes but Bruce finally tracked him down. Thor had left the black sleek building and had gone to the small garden that Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey had been in before the battle began.

It was a mix of what you would traditionally see in a garden and some wonderful technological advances that you would never think to be in a garden. There were several finely pruned shrubs, long limbed trees, delicate flowers of several different hues, and a fountain in the middle carved out of white marble that had a panther as its focal point with water spurting from its mouth. Those were what made it seem like an ordinary garden. What made it extraordinary was the clear glass fifty feet above it supported by very large glass pillars. The glass was like the many different screens that Shuri had used, as projections could be seen dancing on the glass and the significance of the projections were they controlled the temperature and weather conditions of the different parts of the huge garden. If there was a section of the garden had trees that needed lots of water and another that had flowers that needed really warm weather in order to grow, then more than likely it would be raining in part of the garden and extremely warm in the other part at the same time.

Thor was sitting on a bench in a fairly warm section of the garden next to purple and yellow flowers with large petals. Bruce walked the stone path leading towards him and sat next to him. "Hello."

"Hey," Thor muttered. Bruce decided he wasn't going to push Thor. Pushing never solved anything. He would let Thor tell him what was bugging him in his own time. And Thor was quiet for several long seconds before he asked, "You're going to stay here, aren't you?"

"Yup."

Thor sighed. "Okay… How's Tony?"

Bruce shrugged. "Good, I guess. He's all healed up, but he's taking all of his own losses pretty hard." He started to chuckle humorlessly. Now he knew he was dead tired. "Tony and Steve reunited less than eight hours ago and they have basically been fighting the whole time."

Thor shook his head tiredly. "Sounds about right for those two."

"Yeah."

The silence that followed was not at all comfortable. Thor was fidgeting around with an unusual air of anxiety around him and Bruce wanted to be patient but he was finding it difficult to not just bluntly ask why he was acting so weird. Thor finally turned to Bruce. "Can I confide something to you?"

Bruce nodded. "Of course you can. What is it?"

Thor took in a deep breath and clasped his hands together. "Alright, when Loki came to Earth all those years ago I was convinced that someone was helping him. I asked him who controlled the would be king and gave him his army, his scepter but…but by that point he was too far gone. Now I know that it was Thanos who had given him the scepter and the army. But-but I never thought…"

Bruce watched Thor carefully seeing his friend's eyes flash with a deep sadness and an extreme amount of rage. "Thor?"

Thor shook his head quickly. "You didn't see Loki before Thanos attacked us or before you came to tell me that the Asgardians were here. Bruce, he was shaking. _Shaking._ He's absolutely terrified of Thanos. I wanted to know why and I wanted to ask how that Nebula girl knew so much about Loki, so I asked her and she kind of answered both my questions. She said that Thanos had…had Loki…tortured every day for months… Months!" Bruce had been leaning in slightly closer to Thor so he could hear what he was saying because he was saying it so quietly, but he jumped back when Thor suddenly shouted. Then Bruce could hear thunder start to loudly boom and crack in the distance. He didn't need conformation that it was not from the glass over the garden. He knew it was Thor. "That heartless bastard," Thor added quietly, clenching his fists as small bits of lightning formed around them and sizzled out into the air.

Of all the things that crossed Bruce's mind of what was bothering Thor, never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would be what Thor had said. His jaw dropped slightly. "So, wait-why- why would…when did-did this even happen?"

Thor kept his barely contained rage together. "According to Nebula, it was after Loki fell from the Bifrost that Thanos got his hands on him." The thunder grew louder. "It makes sense now. He falls from the bridge and then a year later he is alive and he has this crazy poisonous idea to take over Earth. I…I never could figure it out. Why he had changed so dramatically. I thought… It's because of him. Thanos. I know it is." Thor took several deep breaths trying to calm down while Bruce just stared at Thor trying to wrap his head around this new information.

"Thor, I…" What was he supposed to say to him?

Thor shook his head and said in barely above a whisper, "Loki was so quiet before, so thoughtful. Always practicing his spells, reading. Always showing he was smarter than me by pulling off those pranks of his. And he had been hurting. So much. Bruce, he was almost always ignored by basically everyone. Because of me. And I took advantage of him for so many years, for so many centuries…and then he falls victim to Thanos and…and I didn't even stop to question why he acted so differently. For over a year I almost hated him for what he had done and it probably wasn't even his idea in the first place. What kind of brother am I to not be able to see what is directly in front of me?"

Bruce felt like he had been slapped in the face. _"And it probably wasn't even his idea in the first place."_ Loki's scepter. It had the Mind Stone in it, that's how he was able to take over Clint's and others' minds, but if Thanos gave it to him…who was to say that Thanos didn't use it on Loki to take over his mind? That could totally explain why he had gone from a crazy guy trying to kill everyone to a mischievous guy who was at least trying to do the right thing. Now Bruce felt like an idiot for not seeing it either. "Thor," he began, "just because you didn't see it doesn't mean that you are a bad brother. Nobody saw it. We all just took Loki's actions as face value and none of us thought that there was something more going on."

Thor nodded silently and unclenched his hands. The thunder started to become more and more in the distance. The next thing he said had nothing to do with what Bruce had said. "You know, I wondered for hours after Nebula told me, why Loki had never told me. But now I know why. He would have felt ashamed and like it was his fault and he would have worried that I would look at him differently."

"Why would he blame hims-?"

"Because that's what he does!" Bruce jumped back again. "When Rocket and I had found him, he had destroyed an entire room and when I tried to comfort him he said this whole thing with Thanos was his fault. He said he had known about Thanos and his plan for years and since he hadn't said anything about it, it was his fault."

Maybe Bruce should have just stayed in the room with the two stubborn leaders of the Avengers because sitting here listening to Thor had just made his headache worse. "Loki could not have been the only person in the entire galaxy who knew about Thanos."

"That's exactly what I said! But I don't think he believed me. Dammit, I wish there was a way to convince him it's not his fault. God, if he's beating himself up over this, what could he be thinking about New York?"

Bruce sighed. "Look, the important thing to know is that you shouldn't push Loki about this, but you should tell him everything you just told me. You should both just bring everything out into the open, that way maybe you will both be able to move forward." Man, at what point had he become the group's therapist?

Bruce wasn't sure if he had reached Thor or not, but then suddenly Thor got to his feet. "You are right. I just need to talk to him. Right. That's the best thing to do." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of his words.

Bruce eyed Thor for a moment before saying, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"God, yes. I don't even know how I'm supposed to approach the topic. What do I say? Hello, brother. Did you have a nice sleep? Oh, by the way the blue girl told me you were tortured for months on end and I want to talk about it."

Bruce rubbed his pounding temples as he stood up as well. "Please don't do that. You'll know the best thing to say when the moment comes."

"And if I don't?" Thor asked with genuine worry.

"Give yourself a little more credit. You are his brother, you know him better than anyone else."

"I used to think that as well. But now I'm not so sure." And together they left the garden and headed for the room where they had left Loki.

…

After talking about what had happened between him and Rocket and telling about his conversation with Natasha, minus the whole part where she insinuated that he and Nebula were involved in a "more than friends" relationship, Loki was officially out of things to talk about. Well, he was sure he could have come up with something but as it turned out Nebula was a bit tired. He asked her if she wanted him to leave so she could sleep on the couch for a while but she said no. She did however have a request: she wanted to see his calm memory. He had no problem with that.

He flicked his hand and the green glow shined from his hand and then it went around the entirety of the room transforming it into the beautiful golden field from his childhood. They both sat in silence, again on the carpeted floor, watching the memory unfold to the point where young Loki and young Thor frightened those small white butterflies. Nebula was sitting against the wall in the room but because of the illusion it looked like she was sitting against a large trunked tree in the shade. She half smiled. "It's amazing that your illusions look so real."

"Well, that is kind of the point."

"How can it "kind of" be the point? It either is or it isn't."

Loki smirked at hearing her throw his own words from earlier back at him. "Hilarious."

She smiled again and focused back on the illusion. "Is there a way to make them solid?"

"Yes. Although, they take more concentration and energy so I usually just stick with theses." Nebula nodded as the memory reached its end and the field slowly morphed back into the high tech room.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, sounding unsure.

"Of course."

"Isn't it painful to relive these happy memories?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Sometimes. But even if I did not use magic to engulf reality for a moment, I would still be thinking about it so I should just do it this way."

"In other words, I'm going to do it anyways so I should do it the right way."

"Correct."

She shook her head. "If I could do what you can…I don't think I would want to conjure up memories. I would be too tempted to conjure up ones that were not real. I would be bound to get lost in the fantasy of a better life." She sat quietly for the next minute appearing to want to say something else.

Loki misread what he thought she wanted to say. He thought she was going to say something more about her past to try and make him understand. She didn't have to, because he did understand, but that's not what she wanted to say. "Nebula-"

"You know, you weren't just another prisoner to me." She had said it all with one breath and when she was finished she looked him right in the eye.

Loki blinked a few times. "I'm sorry?"

"I pretended that you were just another prisoner but the truth is I did miss you when you left and I was so upset when I thought you were dead. Loki, you are the _only_ friend I have ever had…"

 _She is my friend…_

Nebula continued on. "I couldn't kill Gamora because I wanted her to be my sister but also because I thought she was all I had left. I lost you and she was it… Now I have you and I lost her." She suddenly started to tear up more than he had ever seen before. "I can't seem to win, can I? I just…I don't know what I am supposed to do now."

Loki stared at the poor girl a second more before standing up and walking over to her and sitting right down next to her. She barely seemed to notice until he patted her shoulder. "I know. I understand. What Thanos stole from you, from me, from everyone, there is no easy way to move on. We just have to make the simple peace that we are here and they are not and…it is terrible but right now there is nothing we can do…" It wasn't very helpful, he knew that. He just felt like he should try to say something semi-comforting. He sighed, "I have Thor, Bruce, and you. And you have me. I promise, you'll always have me-"

She practically jumped him when she suddenly threw her arms around him in an almost death hug. He was shocked by it but not completely. It took him a moment to realize he should probably hug her back. It was slightly awkward and yet at the same time it felt perfectly normal to put his arms around her slender form and hold her. They sat there for who knows how long until Nebula half whispered half cried, "Gamora was his favorite daughter and he didn't even think twice about it. Her life for that damn Soul Stone."

"I know," he said patting her back.

"A soul for a soul," she added with disgust.

Yes. The fantastical Soul Stone, hidden away for eons in a place where no one could find and even if you could find it, you had to sacrifice the person you loved most in order to get the soul controlling and entrapping stone-

 _Wait…wait. Could it really be that simple?_

What did the Soul Stone do in the long run for Thanos's plan of wiping out half of the universe? All the other stones had a specific purpose, did they not? In order to carry out his plan, Thanos would need something that could warp _reality_ and had an immense amount of _power_. Something that could wipe out the _minds_ and bodies of half of everyone throughout all of _space_ and _time_. All who vanished were no longer on the plane of the living, that much was very clear, and he had assumed like everyone else who remained that they were dead and gone. But were they really? Where had their _souls_ gone? What if they were not in the afterlife plane at all? What if they were in some sort of soul world created by the Soul Stone?

Because wasn't that what the Soul Stone did?

It controlled and entrapped souls.

" _A soul for a soul."_

In exchange for wielding its power, the stone took all of the souls of those who vanished.

And if they were in this "Soul World" well, then they were not dead, they were just trapped. And if that were the case, all worlds can be visited in one way or another.

Loki had become still. "Could it be possible…?" he murmured.

Nebula sniffed and wiped at her eyes when she pulled slightly away to look at him. "What?"

He looked at her with wide eyes not really seeing her because his mind was going a million different directions after having this breakthrough. If he was right then it might be possible to go to the Soul World and rescue those who were gone. But only if he was right. There had to be a way to test his theory-

 _The ritual. The one that mother said was too dangerous to do._

Of course, the ritual to walk in the afterlife plane for an unlimited amount of time. If he did the spell and walked amongst the deceased and could not find a single person who had vanished then it meant that his theory was correct. He had to go and do that spell. _Now._

"Loki." He looked at Nebula and saw that she appeared both confused and worried. "What is it?"

"I…I am so sorry but I need to go and test a theory."

"What?"

He took his arms away from her and slowly stood up. "I'll be back in a minute. I swear. Fifteen minutes. Tops." He started to leave feeling guilty for leaving in a rush but this took priority. And he needed to do the spell while lying on a completely flat surface. Like the metal table in Shuri's lab. As he walked through the door and turned down the hall he almost ran, quite literally, into Thor and Bruce.

Bruce appeared more tired than usual and Thor looked almost nervous. Bruce held out his hands when Loki almost ran into them. "Whoa, please don't run anybody over. Specifically me."

"Sorry about that," Loki said in a rush.

Thor cleared his throat. "Ah, Loki, brother, I just wanted to come and talk to-"

"Yeah, now's not really a good time. I need to go test my theory."

"What?" Thor asked now looking very confused. "What are you-Wait!-where are you going?"

Loki had already started jogging through the halls to get to Shuri's lab but he called over his shoulder, "I need to test my theory, give me a minute." Knowing Thor, Bruce, and Nebula they would probably follow him. That was okay, as long as he could concentrate on casting his spell. Two minutes later he ran into Shuri's lab and saw Stark, the dear Captain, and Rhodey all standing around. "Hello, I'm going to need to borrow this room."

Stark glanced at him and then did a double take. "Reindeer Games, what the hell happened to you?" he asked pointing to Loki's neck.

"Thanos has a tight grip. Stark, good to see you're alive. Now let me reiterate, get out."

Stark crossed his arms. "We were here first."

"Oh brother," Rhodey muttered, rubbing his head. "Now we've got two guys who act like kids all the time."

The dear Captain decided to put an end to that and simply asked Loki, "What do you need the room for?"

"I need to lay on a flat surface to test my theory."

Stark narrowed his eyes at him not at all understanding. "Alright, is anyone else confused?"

Loki sighed annoyed, "Oh for star's sake, never mind." He walked to the metal table and got on it. "Nobody say anything, I need to concentrate." He laid down on the perfectly flat surface and remembered the steps to the ritual. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms in an "X" across his chest, raised one hand in the air, waited for it to glow green before he raised the other one, and waited for it to glow as well. And then he whispered the spell that he had whispered all those years ago, "With the power of life in the multiple dimensions, allow me to walk with the dead for a moment." He twisted his hands to make the glow increase and then unlike the last time he tried to do the ritual, he was able to slam his hands down at his sides against the hard metal table and boost his soul or astral body or whatever it was into the afterlife plane.

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 _Author's Note Again: And here we have another chapter completed. And before what I had originally thought too. So, yeah. The next chapter will be the first that will lead us into the big exciting thing that I have planned. Heck, I think next chapter with Loki in the afterlife plane will be pretty exciting. I mean, it has been fun to write Loki's interactions with the Avengers, I know I will have fun writing his interactions with some of our favorite characters who have died._

 _(Sneak peek: I'm totally going to have Loki meet Pietro in the afterlife plane.)_

 _This has nothing to do with the story but I have found this really well done Infinity War fan edit by a YouTuber named Samplevi. After all the fan edits I've seen that are depressing, this one was just epic. It gave me the chills. So I thought I would bring it to everyone's attention. It's called:_ Infinity War | Legends Never Die _._

 _ _So…I guess I don't really have much to say except thank you to every reader, reviewer (all of you), follower, and favoriter. I can never seem to express my gratefulness enough. The only reason I continue this thing is because of you. Each and every one of you. Thank you so very much! Have a good rest of your day!__


	10. Chapter Nine

_Author's Note: It has come to my attention (curtsey of Sora Bulkhead) that Asgardian is spelled without a "U". Like I said before I have dumb moments. So, at this point I will be spelling it correctly but I'm not sure if I will go back and fix the past chapters._

 _And here we have the chapter where Loki is in the afterlife plane…I'm excited. Are all of you? I hope that you don't see everything that I am doing from a mile away and that I manage to surprise you with the people who show up. Oh well, you all can tell me if you were surprised or not. Terribly sorry, no action in this chapter. Just a bunch of people talking._

 _Also I cannot be held responsible for tugging at your heartstrings._

 _Enjoy the chapter!_

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 _Chapter Nine: Vivid Rainbow Sky_

The last thing Loki remembered was lying on the strangely comfortable metal table in Shuri's lab slamming his hands down at his sides, boosting himself into the afterlife plane. Then a warm calmness passed over him and he felt like he was floating. He did not open his eyes at first, he didn't want to break the spell or anything of that nature. After a few seconds of this odd floating sensation he felt himself lying back down on something, but not a metal table. It felt like he was laying out in a grassy soft field. He almost didn't want to get up, he felt so calm and relaxed he thought he might fall asleep here.

 _You have to test your theory. Now, get up._

Loki opened his eyes a crack and saw that it appeared that he was outside. He opened his eyes all the way and saw the large and vast sky above him. It was beautiful and beyond comparison to anything he had ever seen before. The sky was so clear that he thought that he might be able to reach up and touch it. But it was the color that amazed him the most. The color was a mix between electric blue and midnight blue that had lilac purple lights dancing across the blue. It was like an Aura Borealis but the colors had been changed around and this was ten times more breathtaking.

He slowly sat up into a sitting position. He was in a field of jade and emerald colored grass that seemed to stretch on and over the horizon forever just like the sky did. "Stars above, it actually worked," he muttered out loud. Had he not had a singular purpose for being here he might have just sat there and chuckle to himself that one, he had actually done it and two, he was actually seeing the afterlife plane with his own two eyes. And it was incredible.

But he couldn't stay here. How long he had was unclear he just knew that couldn't spend too much time here or else he would be a live person trapped in a world of the dead. As he stood up he noticed that his clothes were fresher and not stained with his blood from the battle earlier. And his throat and neck no longer hurt him. He felt his neck with his fingers and was slightly shocked to find that it was not sensitive at all.

 _Amazing._

He felt stronger and less tired then he had in the past two days. He was more than ready to begin his search for those who had vanished. The only real question was, which way did he go? Every direction looked as if it would lead to nowhere except for more of the field. He was trying to figure this out when he heard a loud swooshing sound behind him. When he spun around he could have sworn that he had seen a blur of blue moving very quickly to the South.

Loki had no clue what that blur was but he had this unexplainable feeling that he should follow it or at the very least go in the same direction that it had been going in. So he walked across the field in the ankle high grass, going to the South. He wasn't sure if he was making the right decision or not but he felt so very certain of himself that he was going where he needed to be.

How very odd. Being sure of himself wasn't one of his strong suits. But this place…It felt like all of his worries and doubts and insecurities and self-hate just melted away into nothing. He truly wanted to explore this place more and even stay awhile. It was so tempting when the thought crossed his mind, but… No. Of course he wasn't going to stay. Just long enough to walk around and search for the others.

He saw what appeared to be a city come up over the horizon. Apparently, he had made the right decision by coming this way. As he got closer he took note that it was not a grand city like Wakanda or even New York. It was a poor and broken apart city and yet, it had a weird little charm to it. Loki continued walking towards the city and as he did the grass became less and less until he was no longer stepping on the soft earth but on a stone brick sidewalk. He glanced around at the towering skyscrapers and the lowly alley ways.

The city was eerily quiet.

There was no sound of traffic or cars, in fact he didn't see a single car parked along any of the abandoned streets. The only sign of live that he saw at this point was some pigeons flying through the air and then landing in the little grass by the small trees planted amongst the concrete of the sidewalk.

 _Where is everyone?_

No sooner did he think that question, he heard a child laugh. He looked up and saw that there was a park several hundred feet in front of him. He silently walked closer but he stayed off to the sidelines. There was a little boy running through the park, a young woman running along with the boy, probably the boy's mother, and an older man who sat on a bench watching them with a sad smile. Watching the scene made Loki think of it as any other family out for a day at the park but he had to remind himself that this was the afterlife plane. Therefore these people were dead. The older man he understood but it was the thirty something year old woman and the little boy that got to him. Life was short enough as it was without it being snatched away from people.

He stood there, partially hidden by a growing oak tree, watching the boy and the young mother remembering what it had been like to be so carefree with his own mother. Then he heard the swoosh again and a man in a thick accent say, "They are a nice family."

Loki jumped backwards and saw a young man standing next to him. His hair was white, like bleached white, with a few of his roots still a more natural shade of brown. He had a little mustache and beard on his face, but it was nothing like Thor's or the dear Captain's. He wore a simple pair of black pants and white running shoes, but his shirt was slightly unusual. It was light blue with dark blue shelves and white diagonals on both sides that almost resembled lightning bolts. Loki shook his head in confusion at the sight of the man now next to him. Besides the swoosh sound he hadn't heard anything. So how did this guy manage to walk up beside him without him knowing it?

The man smiled with a mischievous smile at Loki's reaction. "Sorry about surprising you," he said not at all sounding sorry. "I saw you before in the grass and then again here watching the Zemo family, so I decided to see who you are."

Loki looked the man up and down with raised eyebrows.

 _He saw me in the grass? How? There was no one when I woke up and there certainly was no place for him to hide. That does not make-_

"You're new," the man said not asking, but stating.

Loki shook away his confusion. "Ah, I suppose you could say that."

The man nodded. "Hmm. You seem…lost."

"That's because I am." Maybe lost was the wrong word, but he for sure did not know where he was going to go next after this odd city.

"Interesting," the man mumbled.

"How so?"

The man looked up and it was the first time Loki noticed the man's chocolate brown eyes that were shockingly similar to Wanda's. "People who come here are never lost. They just go where they need to go. You know?"

Loki nodded with some sense of understanding. "They just know where their loved ones are."

"Pretty much. Take me for explain. When I got here I knew to come here and find my parents in the old apartment that we grew up in. Do you need help finding your family and friends? I can probably spare a few seconds."

"No, I do not need any- _seconds_?"

The white haired young man shrugged. "Yeah. That is all the time it would take for me to run around and find them for you."

Loki was lost until it hit him like a ton of bricks. The accent and eyes similar to Wanda's, the ability to run around with super speed. The blue blur he had seen had been this man. Not just any man, Wanda's twin brother. "You're Pietro Maximoff."

"Yeah," Pietro said with a smile. He was apparently happy to be recognized. "Some people call me Quicksilver."

Wanda hadn't mentioned that. "Oh? And who are these people?"

"Well…mostly myself." Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes. "But that's not important right now. How do you know me?" Pietro crossed his arms and stepped closer to Loki. "Because we certainly didn't meet before this. I would have remembered a man in such cool looking clothes as yours."

"I know your sister."

Pietro blinked a few times, his curiosity turning into a hurt longing. "Oh…" Loki was kicking himself for being so blunt. He was blaming Nebula for this, she was obviously rubbing off on him. "You seem like the kind of person who would know my sister and be in the Avengers. You certainly dress like it."

Loki half chuckled and started to say, "No, I'm not a member-"

"How is Wanda? She doing okay?"

"Actually, that is part of the reason why I am here." Loki took in a deep breath and tried to say what he was going to say next carefully and less blunt. "Is your sister here?"

Pietro scrunched his eyebrows together. "I don't understand."

Loki's intentions of being nice and less blunt faded away. "Is your sister, Wanda Maximoff, here in the afterlife plane? Yes or no?"

Pietro laughed, "Wow. Sassy one, aren't you? No, Wanda is not here."

"You're positive?"

Pietro nodded his head rapidly. "Yes. If she were here I would know. You just know it when those you left behind are here. Why do you want to know if she is here? You think she is dead?"

Pietro had said everything in such a rush, Loki was quiet for a few seconds after he had finished speaking just so he could make sure he got everything that had been said. "Well, you see-"

Pietro interrupted him again. "Because she isn't. She isn't here. So what is happening?"

Loki sighed trying not to get impatient. "As I was trying to say-"

"I mean how do you not know if a person is dead or not? Unless, is she missing in action? Is that? Did she go on a mission and did she never come back?"

The man's worry for his twin was perfectly understandable and even expected, but stars above, his constant interrupting with fast spoken questions was getting on Loki's last nerve. "If you would shut up for two damn minutes then maybe I could tell you."

Pietro closed his mouth, stopping himself from asking more questions. But he did say quietly, " _Very_ sassy. You are only a few more sassy comments away from being a full tilt diva."

"…I have no clue what to say to that so, I'll just say thank you."

"You're welcome."

Loki rubbed both his temples, starting to feel a mild headache despite the calm air that was still around him. "Look, I am here because your sister and several others-actually, _millions_ of others all disappeared across the entire universe. I thought they were dead, now I'm not too sure, and I just thought that coming here would be the best way to see if those who disappeared are actually dead or not."

Pietro uncrossed his arms and suddenly looked serious. "You are not dead?"

Loki sighed, "Obviously not."

Pietro blinked his eyes and shook his head. "Wow. I've never seen a live person come here. I mean, sure, there have been some visitors. But even they just know where to go. Never have I seen a live wander… Who all are you looking for?"

Loki started listing them off. "Your sister, Bucky Barnes, King T'Challa, Sam Wilson, a group called the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Steven Strange, and Spider-"Man". I do not know the real name to that last one."

Pietro started walking around in a small circle, contemplating on something. Then he stopped and said to Loki, "Let me take you to some others who might be able to help you. I can tell you that for sure Wanda is not here but, I couldn't tell you one way or another on those other people you mentioned."

Loki nodded. "Alright. Take me to these-" Pietro suddenly grabbed his arm and the entire world became a fast blur of light and color and when it stopped they both were no longer standing on the sidewalk behind the tree near the Zemo family. They were on the outskirts of the city, standing on the stone sidewalk where the green grass was starting to grow up between the cracks. Loki looked around slightly confused but mostly he was annoyed. "What? What just happened and how did we get here?"

Pietro laughed at him again. "You didn't see that coming? If you know who I am then you shouldn't be surprised and with all your sass, I would've thought you had some perceptiveness to you."

" _I do_. Stars above, Wanda was right about you being a handful."

"Look who's talking, old man."

Loki rounded on the speedster. "I beg your pardon?"

Pietro shrugged. "Your clothes. They're designed very similarly to Thor's. He was an Asgardian. Are you an Asgardian too?"

"Well, it's…" He did not really want to get into this with Wanda's twin brother. "Sort of."

"And Asgardians live to be hundreds of years old, yes? Therefore, you are an old man."

"…Where are these people that you talked about?"

Pietro started walking in the grass. "They should be just up ahead."

"Marvelous, then I can be done with dealing with you."

"You have no patience, you know that, man?"

"Wow, now look who has the perceptiveness to him. For your information, on a good day my patience is _very_ limited but after what recently happened…" Loki trailed off, not wanting to start to relive it all. He already had with Nebula and that was enough. Pietro seemed to understand or at the very least he was smart enough to not push Loki about it.

As they went farther away from the city and more into the field of grass Loki saw that the grass was different colors in certain areas. In some places it was crimson red, in others a golden yellow. It was a mix of these three colors and the sky had changed drastically too. It was no longer a vivid deep blue but a hazy sky blue with bouncing and flickering lights of vastly different colors. In certain areas the lights were sea foam green with hints of pink, in others the lights were ruby red, and in others still the lights were an autumn orange. Of all the worlds that Loki had been to, he had never seen a rainbow sky. And that's not where the amazement stopped. In each direction there were other cities peaking up over the horizon. One looked like New York, another one looked like New York as well but slightly old fashioned, and the other looked like a city from another planet. "This place is fascinating."

Pietro chuckled. "Yes, it is. The cities are replicas of those from the life you left behind. It's like you went to a better, carefree version of your life."

"So, that city back there," Loki said pointing behind him. "That's where you lived in the plane of the living?"

Pietro nodded. "Yeah, Sokovia. It's a poor, crime ridden little city, but hey, its home. Now, of course this version of Sokovia is practically paradise."

That meant that the afterlife plane was much larger than Loki had previously imagined. If there were cities from all the different worlds here with billions upon billions of people…this was going to take a lot longer than expected. Then again, if Pietro knew for sure that Wanda wasn't here, then maybe these other people would be able to tell him for sure about the others. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost."

"Then when will these others come?"

"Well, for one I'm here," an older blue man said in a gruff and scratchy voice. He wore a black and red coat with a Ravagers patch sown just underneath the left collar and oddly enough he had a red fin attached to his head that looked like a Mohawk. The man picked at his jagged teeth with his finger nail and looked at Loki. "You ain't from around here, are you, boy?"

Loki didn't much appreciate being called "boy" because more than likely he was older than this man. "No, and I'm not a boy."

"Well, I reckon you ain't no girl."

Loki shook his head. "No, that's not what I…" He stopped himself from going on and chuckled humorlessly. "Stars above, everyone's a smartass today, aren't they?"

The blue man smiled, showing off his imperfect teeth. "Now you're startin' to catch on, boy." His red eyes glanced over Loki and then went over to Pietro. "Hey, Maximoff, who is this guy anyways?"

Pietro half smirked. "You know with everything that just happened, I never got around to asking."

"Why don't you ask him now? He is standin' right here."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes, _he_ is standing right here. Can you both stop talking about me like I'm not here and can we _please_ move onto more important matters?"

"Wow," the blue man said. "You got some fire in ya, boy. I like that."

Loki threw his hands in the air and said sarcastically, "Well, I aim to impress and please. Glad to help you out with that."

The blue man let out a deep laugh and didn't stop for several seconds. "Ah, that was a good one. Since you seem determined to keep yourself anonymous, I reckon I should at least introduce myself. I'm Yondu Udonta, once the leader of one of the sections of the Ravagers."

Well that explained the different colored coat. Most Ravagers' uniforms were completely red, but Yondu's had some black mixed in with the red leather. And Yondu…he knew that name didn't he? Then he remembered. "You helped the so called Guardians of the Galaxy kill the planet creature."

"Ego? Yeah, that sure was a hella of a time. That's how I ended up here in this colorful place. How'd you hear about it?"

"Nebula's a friend."

"The blue gal with the machinery parts?" Loki nodded. "Uh-huh. Well, what can I do to help ya out?"

Pietro answered, "He needs to know if certain people are here or not."

An African man with gray hair draped in specially knitted orange and red material stepped up to the little group and said in a serious tone, "Certain people? What does this mean? If he has just arrived then he should know where he belongs and who is waiting for him."

Loki stared at the man.

 _I know that accent too…_

It was a Wakandan accent. Could it be that this was T'Challa and Shuri's father?

Yondu shrugged. "With all due respect, your former majesty, I think the boy isn't a newbie. I reckon he's, I don't know, a-"

"A live one," said another new voice. Loki turned around to the female voice behind him. He saw a pale bald woman dressed in fancy yellow robes. The robes were designed kind of like Strange's blue outfit that he wore. The woman stared at Loki with a knowledgeable and fascinated stare. "Aren't you?"

"That is correct. And you are?"

She smiled and stepped closer to the group and ended up standing next to Yondu. "The Ancient One."

"The Ancient One?" Loki asked biting back a chuckle. "That's just your name then? So, first name Ancient, last name One? Do I call you Miss One?"

The Ancient One continued to stare at Loki with a remembrance of curiosity. "The way you got here, it's a very peculiar ritual. Unlike those done by others, and like your tribes," she nodded to the African man, "there was a ritual to walk in the afterlife plane for however long as the person chose. It's dangerous, reckless, and it takes a certain amount of strength and concentration." She was silent for maybe a minute thinking over the words she had just spoken. Then she faced Loki head on. "Who are you?"

She was interesting. Actually, if he was being honest everyone here was interesting. "My name is Loki. I am here to see if some of my friends and some others are here."

Pietro turned in surprise to face Loki too. "Loki? I know who you are. Guess the Avengers decided to let other former enemies join the group."

Loki sighed again. "Alright, I am not a member of the Avengers."

"No?" Pietro said in surprise. "You said you knew my sister."

"I do. Look, I was helping the Avengers fight against the mad Titan Thanos."

The Ancient One's eyes widened. "Thanos?" she whispered. "He is after the Infinity Stones again?"

"Yes and he achieved what he always wanted. Half the entire universe is just…gone."

"No," she said, perhaps not believing it.

" _Yes._ Now, I thought that those who vanished were dead but then I thought maybe there was a chance that they were only entrapped in the Soul Stone. That's why I am here. I needed to be sure that they are not dead."

"Who are you looking for?" the African man asked.

Loki listed the names again. "Wanda Maximoff, Bucky Barnes, King T'Challa," the African man's eyes widened, "Sam Wilson, the Guardians of the Galaxy except for Rocket, Dr. Stephen Strange," the Ancient One sighed sadly, "and a somewhat helpful Spider-Boy."

Yondu was the first to speak. "You're saying that except for the rat, all the Guardians are gone?"

"If by "rat" you mean raccoon then yes, he's the only one left."

Yondu shook his head suddenly looking fearful. "Quill ain't here. I…I would know if my boy was here. And the others…" He trailed off.

The African man took another step forward. "You said that my son, King T'Challa was gone, but what about the rest of my family?"

"I knew you were his father."

"I am T'Chaka, former King of Wakanda." The elderly man wore a worried expression as he introduced himself properly. Loki hadn't answered his question.

"Your wife and Shuri are fine. General Okoye and M'Baku are keeping a watchful eye over them."

T'Chaka let out a deep sigh of relief and said, "T'Challa is not here. At one point he was on the brink of death and I knew he was so close. I do not feel that now. He must be somewhere else."

"And I can tell you for sure that Wilson isn't here," said a pale man with light brown hair walking up beside Pietro.

Pietro turned to the man with a smile. "Riley, it's been a while." Pietro and Riley shook hands and Loki noticed that this Riley person had a jet pack on that was similar to Sam's. Were there more of those winged jet packs?

Riley turned to Loki. "I used to be Wilson's wingman in the 58th Pararescue."

Loki raised his eyebrows. "The wingman used to have a wingman?" Sam was a good fighter and a force to be reckoned with but it was really easy to just see him as the dear Captain's wingman.

Riley shrugged. "I guess you could say that. But the point is, he isn't here." He said it with a glimmer of happiness, evidently he was glad his friend was still alive and kicking somewhere.

And then another new voice said, "And the somewhat helpful Spider-Boy isn't here either."

 _For star's sake, how many more people are going to come?_

This next new person was a man in about his late forties, his hair was dark brown except for his temples were starting to gray ever so slightly. His eyes were baby blue and they both had some wrinkles around them that crinkled up when he smiled. He wore simple Midgardian clothes, black trousers, a dark blue shirt, and a gray sweater vest. He had an air of wisdom and kindness around him, in other words he seemed very approachable.

"And you are?" Loki asked the gentleman.

"Ben Parker. I'm Spider-Man's uncle… I'm sure that Peter and all these others that you mentioned are simply trapped in this Soul Gem thing."

"Soul Stone," Loki corrected.

Ben chuckled, "Stone, gem, it's basically the same thing."

"Not really, but okay."

Pietro shook his head. "You have to excuse him, he's ridiculously sassy."

Ben smiled, his eyes twinkling in the lights given off by the sky. "Well, if I had the ability to perform a ritual that took me to the land of the dead and everyone kept asking silly questions and taking me away from my purpose, I'd be a little sassy too." And Loki instantly liked this guy. "The power it must have taken to get here…I don't really understand all of this magic stuff but, wow, what a responsibility."

"Oh brother," Yondu muttered out loud. "Are you going to say your "with great power comes great responsibility" thing that you always used to say to your dang nephew again? 'Cause I don't know how much more I can take of that."

Ben chuckled again. "No, don't worry. I won't say it."

"Good. Now, boy," Yondu turned back to Loki. "I needed a minute to wrap my head around everything you was sayin' and I think I got it now. As I said before, Quill ain't here and neither are any of the other Guardians."

Loki blinked a few times. "Not even Gamora?"

"No."

"You are positive?"

"She ain't here, boy."

But Gamora had actually been physically killed by Thanos, she didn't just disappear like the others. Unless… _"A soul for a soul."_ Unless her soul was the first one to be taken by the Soul Stone. It was a possibility. More like a reality given that Yondu said that she was not here.

Well, he only needed confirmation that Bucky and Dr. Strange were not here, then he could be on his way. And then as if someone had read his mind, a woman joined the group and said, "Sergeant Barnes is not here either." She was British and dressed in old fashioned clothes, a dark blue knee long dress that wasn't seductive in its design, but more practical. Her brunette hair was short and curly and she wore a red fedora hat. And before Loki even had to ask who she was she stated, "I'm Agent Peggy Carter."

There was such a strength to her voice and to the way she held herself with her head held high. He had seen fierce women before, boy had he, but she just had something about her that made her seem different and special. Loki nodded after her introduction. "The way you said your name makes it sound like you are important, but I'm terribly sorry, I don't know who you are."

Agent Carter half smiled. "You are an Asgardian, yes? I would not expect you to."

"She formed S.H.I.E.L.D.," Pietro told Loki.

"Helped found it," Agent Carter corrected.

Well, all that left was Strange and Loki had a feeling that the Ancient One would know if he was here or not, but she had become oddly quiet, thinking after he had listed off all who he was searching for. In fact it was like she was ignoring the entire group with her eyes closed in mild meditation. "Is she alright?" Loki asked no one in particular.

Ben answered, "When she was alive she could gaze into the future, now of course she can't but she still has a very interesting intuition about her."

"In other words," Pietro said, "she's magical even in death."

Riley shook his head and scoffed to himself, "I really miss the good old days when me and Wilson flying around in winged jet packs was the craziest thing happening in the world."

"The world just keeps on getting crazier and crazier," Loki said, repeating the words Bucky had said before the battle. Why did that feel like years ago?

The Ancient One suddenly opened her eyes. "Dr. Strange is not here either and I know the first thing you," she pointed at Loki, "must do when you get back to the land of the living. You must find a way to contact Wong, if he is still there."

"Wong?"

"Yes. He is usually with Dr. Strange to help him out with different complications that come up."

"Yes, I know who he is. I met him very briefly. He said he had to protect the sanctuary that Bruce and I landed in."

The Ancient One nodded. "He always was a good man when it came to protecting the sanctuaries." She paused for one second, perhaps thinking about all those who she had left behind. Then she continued on. "If all who you have mentioned and everyone else is trapped in the Soul Stone, in the Soul World then Wong would know how to get there. He was the keeper of the library in Kamar-Taj and to the books that are in Dr. Strange's sanctuary. If he is still in the plane of life, Wong would know which book would have the proper spell to get to the Soul World."

Loki nodded at this new information. "Thank you. I'm sure that will be very helpful in the future."

The Ancient One folded her hands behind her back. "May I say something else that might be helpful in the near future?" Loki nodded again. "The Mind Stone brought Vision to life in the first place, perhaps it can bring him back from death."

Loki felt a twinge of guilt. He had completely forgotten about the wise and kind android. "He is here then?" She shook her head yes. "Well, um, yes. I will keep what you said in mind." He wasn't going to say that there was no possible way to get back the stone, considering that Thanos had it. He glanced up and around at all the odd and colorful people he had met that all seemed so interesting. He would have enjoyed getting to know some of them a bit better, but he had to leave soon. If only they were alive…oh well, he would be back here eventually for good. "Well…I suppose that is all. Thank you, all of you, for allowing me to take up some of your time."

Yondu let out another hearty laugh. "Boy, we all are dead! Our time is the rest of eternity."

Peggy and the Ancient One both rolled their eyes at the blue man, but Pietro and Riley both chuckled with him. T'Chaka and Ben shared a glance and then they both focused their attention back on Loki. T'Chaka was the first to speak. "You are very welcome. I hope you are safe with your travels and that you are successful in finding T'Challa and the rest of them."

Loki sighed, "Me too."

T'Chaka gave him a nod and then turned to leave. Ben came up to Loki and extended his hand out to him. Loki was shocked and hesitantly took the man's hand. Ben shook his hand warmly and smiled. "Good luck. I'm sure that the Avengers will prevail. And you tell Peter when you see him that his uncle is proud of him." Then Ben let go of his hand and left as well.

Riley was the next one to step forward. "I'm not really good with speeches of confidence or motivation. And you don't have to tell Wilson… _Sam_ anything when you see him. Just…make sure the dummy doesn't get himself killed."

"That may be a little difficult to do, considering the fact that he is so bloody annoying," Loki muttered.

Riley laughed, "You're not wrong." He waved goodbye to Pietro and the rest of the remaining group and then started walking away.

The Ancient One did not say a word, everything she had to say had already been said. So, instead she eyed Loki with her peculiar wise gaze and gave him a small nod. He nodded back and said, "I'll find a way to contact Wong and get the others back." She smiled with optimism and nodded in agreement, then she left the dwindling group.

Yondu picked at his teeth again. "Well, I reckon I should be gettin' on my way too. It was an interesting visit, boy. When you get here permanently, you should come on by and talk some more."

Loki deadpanned, "I will be counting down the years." Yondu laughed, showing off those teeth of his again, and walked away, his long coat blowing back with each stride. The only people left standing with Loki was Pietro and this Agent Carter person. She had said very little since her arrival but now she looked like she was on the verge of saying much more. Loki noticed this. "Something on your mind, Agent Carter?"

She half smiled and adjusted her red hat. "I just wanted to say that I am sorry about your friends. To lose so many in so short of a time is incredibly painful." She was an interesting one. The way she held herself made it very clear that she was not one to be trifled with and yet her soft and understanding tone that she had now made it obvious that she was more than just a strong female. She was a mixture of strength and femininity. Not afraid to punch someone down, but also not afraid to show her true emotions.

He nodded. "It's fine. Now that I know they are not here…and I suppose in all reality I am not friends with these people."

Agent Carter blinked in surprise. "No?"

"No," he repeated. "Some of them I have not even met yet and the others I only met them yesterday so…I'm not a friend, I'm…I'm just a concerned individual."

"A concerned individual would not risk so much to come to the land of the deceased. Whether you like it or not, I'd say that you consider most of these people to be your friends."

 _Well, she's not wrong._

Agent Carter glanced at something behind Loki and Pietro and both of them turned around to see another man coming up towards them. And Loki had to do a double take because the man approaching them looked exactly like Stark. Well, not exactly, he was at least ten years younger than Stark. Pietro and Agent Carter both knew who this man was. Pietro waved and called out, "Hey! I didn't think you would be coming. We don't really need your help now."

Agent Carter scoffed, "You're right that we do not need his help, but Howard is the only person I know who would offer his help even if it is not needed, if only to show off his genius."

The Stark lookalike, Howard, chuckled, "Jeez, Peg, you know me so well." He stopped about two feet away from where Loki stood next to Pietro. It was amazing, from his thick brown hair and mustache down to his voice, Loki could have sworn that this man was a young Tony Stark. But that was impossible. Howard ran a hand through his hair and half chuckled at Loki's wide confused eyes. "I guess I should explain why I'm here. I'm Howard Stark, Antony's father. Well…I guess you would know him as Tony."

"You're Stark's father?"

"Yeah. I know. The resemblance is uncanny." Loki had to nod in agreement. "Anyways, I heard that there was a guy from the living here and I thought that maybe I would take this as an opportunity to get a message to Tony."

Before Loki could think to say anything, Agent Carter sighed, "Howard, I realize you want to tell your son some things, but he," she pointed to Loki, "has to worry about so many other things without trying to remember to tell-"

"Well, see? He doesn't have to remember what to tell Tony. I wrote it all down on a note." Howard pulled out of his brown pants pocket a folded piece of lined white paper. "I don't know how the laws of nature work here. All these years and I still don't understand it. But you sir, you have magic and power in order to get here. Maybe you could somehow bring my note with you to the living and give it to Tony?"

Loki honestly did not know why he said, "Alright, I will try," or why he then took the folded up note from Howard. It wasn't like he really liked Stark and felt obligated to be the message man between the afterlife plane and the living plane. Maybe…maybe it was because a parent was trying so hard to contact his child that pulled at his heartstrings. He didn't know, but Howard beamed brightly when he said he would at least try.

Howard walked around Loki and Pietro towards Agent Carter. "How 'bout it, Peg?"

"How about what?" she asked crossing her arms.

"How about you and your mister and me and my misses go to that old café that you used to go to all the time when you were working with the S.S.R. and see if we can relive the good old days?"

Agent Carter sighed, "Okay. Invite Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis, will you? If we are going to do this, we need to do it right." Together Howard Stark and Agent Peggy Carter headed for the old fashioned New York City, preparing to meet their significant others and their friends.

Loki was left holding the folded up note with nobody except Pietro at his side. "Well," Pietro started, gaining Loki's attention. "I guess if you know that everyone you're looking for is not here, then you should probably be heading on your way."

"You're absolutely right."

"You need to go back to that field you woke up in."

That made some sort of sense. In order to get back to the living plane he would need a quiet place to concentrate. "Alright, I will go back to-" Pietro grabbed his arm again and again the world became a blur of lights and colors. When it stopped, they were both standing in the green field with the blue sky with violet lights. Loki turned on Pietro. "Would you stop doing that?"

Pietro shrugged, "It's what I do. Why do you see so surprised again? You didn't see that coming?"

Loki bit back a comeback and sighed. He glanced down at the grass when he said, "Did you want me to say anything for you to Wanda?"

Pietro was silent for a few seconds, thinking about what the best thing to say was. "Just…tell her that I'm fine. Better than fine, actually. Well, don't say that. Just tell her not to worry or to feel sad when she thinks about me." He nodded to himself. "I think that is good."

Loki nodded. "You're fine, tell her not to worry or be sad. Alright." They both stood in the field in a silence feeling the light breeze. Loki should thank him for helping him, or apologize for being so impatient, but he wasn't sure on how to go about it and he wasn't sure if he had enough time to think about it. And as to why Pietro was hesitant about leaving, well, it could have been because Loki was the only person he had met in a long time who knew his sister and he wanted to latch onto anyone who could tell him anything at all about his twin.

But time was ticking away and they both knew that.

"I should let you do whatever it is that you need to do so you can get back," Pietro said turning away to leaving.

"Um, yeah. Hey, uh," Pietro turned back around. Loki didn't know at all what to say. It seems that he had that problem a lot lately. He slightly smiled and said, "See you around, Quicksilver."

Pietro smiled at finally being recognized and called by his super hero name. "Yes, but hopefully not too soon!" Then he left, a blur of blue racing back to Sokovia.

Well, the entire thing had been fascinating and he was glad to say that he did not get into any real arguments with anyone. This had been easier than assembling the Avengers. A lot easier actually. He glanced at the folded note in his hand from Howard to his son. Curiosity seized him for a moment but he reframed from reading it. This was none of his business, besides if Stark told Bruce about it, the contents of the note would eventually get back to him.

Now came the fun part: getting back. It was simple enough, he just needed to close his eyes and concentrate on waking up and when he did he would wake up back in the living plane. Simple. Well…in theory. He was suddenly hit with a tremendous feeling of lightheadedness and standing there in the beautiful green field had become very difficult.

 _Oh no…_

And before he knew it he had fallen to the ground. Oh, please don't tell him that he had gone through all of that and found out that he was right just to be trapped here. No. There was still time, there had to be. How long had he been here? Fifteen, twenty minutes most? He just had to concentrate. So he sat there with his eyes closed and tried to concentrate. But his concentration was broken by a woman saying, "Apparently, I did not make it very clear how dangerous this spell is."

Loki's eyes popped open and he saw, standing only a few feet away from him, his mother dressed in a yellow and blue silky dress with her long golden brown hair pulled into an arrange of curls. He should not have been shocked. He had no reason to be. He was in the bloody afterlife plane after all and yet he stared up at her in disbelief. "Mother?"

She smiled her usual smile, a mix of warmth and understanding. She stepped closer and closer until she was right in front of him and she got down on her knees so they were at eye level. She continued to look at him with her affectionate gaze and all he could do was stare on in his shocked silence, feeling far too many emotions at one time. After what felt like a lifetime had passed in silence his mother slightly chuckled, "What? No hug?"

He didn't need her to say it again. At the same time mother and son at long last got to be reunited in a way they both had been denied for so long. How Loki had missed her. His dear mother, the only one who never gave up on him and always, always saw the potential in him. "I can't believe it's really you," he whispered still holding onto her in their tight hug.

"My dear boy, I can't believe you are here." She patted his back and ran her fingers through his hair in the way she had done when he was a child. It made him never want to leave.

He should just be happy for this moment together but what he could he say, he wanted more. But the thought of being here, in this happy place with his mother made him remember his feelings that he did not deserve love. He whispered it all in a teary eyed rush. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. For everything, for what I did, for not being able to save you, for-"

"Loki," his mother said in her tone that she used to get everyone's attention. She never had to raise her voice, she just had to change her tone slightly and then everyone stopped talking. "You need to stop putting the weight of things that you are not responsible for on your shoulders. You blame yourself for everything and I am here to tell you that you are not to blame."

He slightly pulled away from her embrace so he could look into her eyes. "I…I know…deep down that you're right…but-"

"No. No "buts". I want you to know that you were always loved. By me, by your father, by your brother. I know it was unequal," she paused to glance down at the ground, her feelings of failing to have Loki feel more loved shining through, "but I want you to never forget that. You were loved and you _are_ loved…You have to leave now."

"No," he said shaking his head.

With both of her hands on his shoulders she said softly, "Take care of yourself and Thor. You both need each other so I want you both to stop pushing each other away."

Wasn't that just like her? To give him one more motherly command that he would promise to keep and would more than likely end up breaking. But now was not the time to be pessimistic. Now was the time to actually get the chance to say a proper goodbye. "Mother," he started feeling the tears in the back of his eyes start to push forward. He saw her tears too, her longing to either go with him or for him to stay, but neither were possible. "I…I miss you so much. And every day I wish that I had had a chance to tell you how much I love you."

His mother smiled softly wiping the tears from his face. "I miss you too and I know how much you loved me. I love you too. The only piece of advice I can say is, if you hate living with the regret then do not hide your true feelings from anyone. Talk to Thor, to your friends. Tell them how much they mean to you before you no longer have the chance to." Why did she always have the answer for everything? Was she born this wise? "Goodbye, my boy," she whispered. And then the last thing he remembered was hugging her again, feeling her arms around him and then everything started to turn into a hazy fog and he felt himself start to wake up.

…

The past seven hours could only be described as tiredly interesting.

After Bruce had agreed to help Thor talk to Loki, they both had causally strolled to the room where they had originally left him in. But then Loki came rushing out of the room, nearly knocked them both over, and ran away saying something about testing a theory or whatever. Well, Thor, that Nebula girl, and of course himself all ran after him to see what the heck he was talking about. By the time they reached him he was already laying on the metal table in Shuri's lab, seemingly asleep, but there was this really weird faint green glow around his hands that made it clear that he was not just sleeping. "What did he just do?" Nebula had asked walking up to the three men in the room.

The three men of course were Rhodey, Steve, and Tony. Rhodey shrugged looking as confused as Bruce felt, Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Tony interrupted him. "He said he wanted to test a theory? I dunno, it was really odd. Then he muttered something about walking with the dead and his hands got all glowy. I was very confused."

"It's a ritual," Thor said standing next to his sleeping brother. "I remember. He tried every spell and ritual in our mother's books except for one that allowed you to go to the world of the dead."

There was a moment of silence before Tony had asked, "So, there's a way to go to a heaven-like place and see dead people?"

Steve had tiredly rolled his eyes and asked the real question that was on everyone's minds. "Why would he need to go there in order to test whatever his theory is?"

Once again, it was silent because nobody had the answer or even part of one. In Bruce's mind it was clear that Loki was going to be out of it for a while and none of them were doing anybody any favors by still being this dead tired. Because as he looked around at the people in the room, that's what he saw. Dead tired people. And after a couple minutes of convincing them, mostly Tony, Steve, and Thor needed convincing, everyone agreed to go off and get some sleep. Well, mostly. Rhodey had left to find an empty room to sleep in, so had Steve. Nebula and Thor refused to leave Shuri's lab where Loki was still sleeping. So Nebula sat at the silver table Bruce had sat at earlier and fell asleep leaning over it with her head against her crossed arms and Thor sat off to the sidelines on the stairs and kept nodding off. Tony apparently was running off of some sort of caffeine or adrenaline or some sort of Monster energy drink or whatever because the man refused to sleep. It was probably just determination to find Thanos and get back those who were lost that kept Tony going. Point was, he kept pacing in the lab typing at his cellphone for news updates. That was the last thing Bruce remembered before he fell asleep sitting in a chair leaning against the wall.

How long was anyone's guess though, because he was startled and awoken by a pat against his leg and a voice saying, "Hey, you gonna wake up or not?"

He slowly cracked open his eyes. Tony was sitting in a chair looking like he might be asleep and that raccoon named Rocket was standing next to Bruce's chair with his arms crossed. He had been the one to wake him up. Bruce rubbed his head and muttered, "Yeah, what is it?"

Rocket sighed, "The blonde chick dressed in far too much leather wanted me to tell you that she, the genius kid, the kid's mother, and that guy in the fury outfit all went to meet the new arrivals."

Bruce was awake now. "New arrivals?"

"Yeah."

"Who are they-what'd they look like?"

"Which question would you like me to answer?"

"Both," Bruce grumbled.

"Well, there were two guys and one girl. The girl had long dark hair and is pretty tall and slender like. The one guy had dark hair too and has this weird red and black suit. And then the other guy had light hair, light eyes, and strangely enough, a bow and arrow."

"Oh, God," Bruce murmured.

Rocket half laughed, "That's what blondie said you'd say."

Oh, this was not good. At all. He had no idea who the woman was and the man with the red and black suit was probably this Scott "Ant-Man" person, but the man with the bow and arrow was more than likely one Clint Barton A.K.A. Hawkeye. With Tony showing up, the staying up forever talking about what to do next, learning about what really happened to Loki, and now dozing on and off, he had completely forgotten that Nat and Steve had called Clint and that he was coming to Wakanda with this Scott person. And he doubted that either one of them had mentioned to Clint that Loki was here.

Bruce was in the motion of hurriedly standing up from his chair when Loki suddenly sat up with a gasp and was wide awake. Oh, what a time to wake up. "Loki?" he asked stepping up next to him. He was breathing deeply and fast. Maybe a bit too fast. "Hey, are you okay?"

Loki slightly turned his head to glance at him. He seemed a little disoriented but when he caught Bruce's eye, he said in his still scratchy voice, "Bruce?"

"Yeah. It's me."

Loki half smiled. "I'm back."

"Back?" Rocket asked walking closer to the sleeping Tony. "Where'd you go? 'Cause all I saw was you sleeping." Rocket started nudging Tony until the man woke up and pushed the raccoon away. "Hey, don't touch me," Rocket growled.

"Then don't touch me first," Tony snapped back. It was funny how similar Tony and Rocket were. Sure, one was a human from Earth, the other was a raccoon from space, but they both were spitfires and very, what was the right word, reclusive when it came to their real selves. Hell, Loki probably fell into that category too. Tony saw Loki sitting up and said, "Oh, Reindeer Games is up. Now we can see what the heck he was talking about."

Loki swung his legs over the edge of the table, hopped down off of it onto the floor, saw Thor and Nebula sleeping, sighed, and told Bruce, "You wake my brother, I'll wake up Nebula."

"Yeah, okay, but um…" Loki was already walking to the table were Nebula sat. Bruce sighed and went over to Thor to wake him up. All Bruce did was barely put his hand on Thor's shoulder and the man woke up. It startled him. "Hey! Oh, good you're uh, you're awake."

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"Well, uh-"

"Your brother's awake and apparently that's a big deal," Rocket said standing off to the side with his arms still crossed.

Thor stood up in a rush and saw Loki talking to the now awake Nebula. "Loki, are you now going to explain what is happening?"

Loki turned around to face his brother. "Yes. My theory was correct and Nebula said that you all got some much needed rest while I was in the afterlife plane."

"The what now?" Rocket asked.

Loki didn't stop to answer his question. "Which is good because we have a lot to do and we need to be at our best…Me too." Loki hesitantly waved his hand over his neck and throat and a flash of green healed it up as good as new with not even a trace of a bruise.

"Whoa!" Rocket exclaimed. "Are you tellin' me that he could've done that the whole time?"

Tony shrugged. "Reindeer Games is a wizard."

Loki rolled his eyes at being called a wizard but before he could correct Tony, he noticed something in his hand: it was a folded up note. Loki half smiled, stepped closer to Tony, and handed him the note. Tony looked confused and Loki just shook his head. "Don't make me explain." Tony took the note from him and Loki turned back to the group, fully ready to tell them everything.

But Bruce cut in with, "Guys, this is great and everything but I think you all need to know something. Rocket said that Natasha was meeting with Cl-"

And as if he knew he was about to be talked about, Clint Barton with his eagle eyes and dressed in his long ago S.H.I.E.L.D. issued uniform carrying his bow and slung over his shoulder was a container of arrows, came charging into the room. "Clint, wait!" called Natasha but it was too late. He was already in the room and he had already spotted Loki.

"Oh, hell no," Clint said in a dangerously low voice. He was already pulling out an arrow, lining it up on his bow, and pulling it back, ready at any moment to release it and hit his target. Unfortunately, Loki was his target. Thor and Nebula both looked about ready to jump Clint if necessary, Tony and Rocket both just watched on in amazement, Bruce was trying to talk Clint down or at least stall him long enough until Natasha made it back into the room, and Loki had taken several steps backwards when the archer had charged towards him and aimed an arrow at his head and held his hands up in surrender.

He was obviously shocked and maybe even a bit frightened but he still managed to come up with a smart quip. "Well, I picked a terrible time to wake up, didn't I?"

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 _Author's Note Again: Okay. I know. You don't have to tell me. I left the chapter on another cliffhanger and you're all mad, sue me. (Please don't really, I have no money.) And remember back when I said that the whole can Loki be trusted thing was over? Yeah, I guess I lied. But it won't last too much and it serves a purpose, so…_

 _Frigga in the afterlife plane. Did you all see it coming? Yes? No? Maybe?_

 _I could not have Loki be in the afterlife plane and not see Uncle Ben. He is such an iconic character for the Marvel universe and as happy as I am that the MCU Spider-Man does not have the same origin that we all already know, I miss that we never got to meet him. So…here he is. With a line about responsibility and power and everything._

 _I freaking love Yondu and I wish that the guy didn't die. (Darn it James Gunn!) But what can you do? I honestly would love to write something else at some point either with just the Guardians and Yondu or just Yondu by himself. I can't contain all the ideas in my head…hmm…I have plenty of ideas for stories, but don't worry, this story takes precedence._

 _The Zemo family and Riley are just little cameos for those who are as obsessed with CA: The Winter Solider and CA: Civil War as I am. Also I needed someone who would know if Sam was there or not so…_

 _I'll tell you what Howard's note said to Tony. I promise. Just not right now._

 _Did anyone else see Ant-Man and the Wasp? I'm sure some of you did. It was pretty good, not my top five but still good. In case you have seen it then you already know that my story is different from it and does not follow what happened in the end credit scenes. And if you have not seen the movie yet, well, then you probably don't know what I am talking about. And I'm not about to spoil the end of the movie here in a fan fiction chapter._

 _This chapter was a lot of fun to write but also it was kind of a hassle. Oh, well. The next chapter will be a bit more fun hopefully. Thank you all for your reviews and constant attention! Love you all!_

 _To my friend Samantha, I put Agent Carter in the story with her red hat, are you happy?_


	11. Chapter Ten

_Author's Note: Oh, my gosh! Giant chapter! So many characters talking! So much emotion!_

 _So, after writing this chapter I think I finally know why the IW writers didn't have every character meet every character and why they killed half of the characters. It is really difficult to have eighteen characters all in the same room at one time and have them one, be in character and two, have enough dialogue for each of them so it doesn't seem like they are just in there to be in there. Oh, well. I attempted it anyways. You all can tell me if it is good or not._

 _Also there may be a_ _ **slight spoiler**_ _from Ant-Man and the Wasp. I don't think it is, I think it's something fairly obvious, but you know, I don't want to spoil it for you if you didn't think it was obvious. So, it has to do with Hope's mother. That's all I'll say. If you think that means I'm going to spoil something monumental, then don't read this just yet and if you don't, then continue on._

 _And again, I cannot be held responsible if I pull at your heartstrings._

 _As usual, enjoy the chapter!_

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 _Chapter Ten: Wanted: One Magic User_

Well, this wasn't what Loki had expected. After waking up in a mild panic, still feeling the memory of his mother's arms around him, he had thought that he would simply tell all who were in the room what he had learned and that his theory was true. And after waking Nebula up and having Bruce wake Thor up and deciding that he would need to be at his best which meant that the bruise and the pain in his throat and neck would have to go, he was about to do so.

But apparently that would have to wait.

Loki really wished someone had been nice enough to tell him before now that Clint bloody Barton was going to be bargaining in at any moment and aim an arrow at his head. It would have been nice. Like _very_ nice. But having his life threatened yet again was fine. Bloody peachy. He stood at least three feet away from the archer with his hands up in surrender, on his left was Thor and on his right was Nebula. They both looked about ready to tackle Barton to the ground if the moment arrived and Bruce, bless his heart, was frantically trying to get Barton to stop and listen. "Clint, listen I know what you're thinking and I get it. But before you go and do something that we'll all regret-"

"Oh, believe me," Barton said in an even tone. "Regret is not something I would feel if I did this. In fact, I think I would be able to sleep better at night if I did."

"And believe me," Nebula said in her feisty voice, "if you let that arrow fly, you will definitely regret it."

At that moment, Natasha, Shuri, M'Baku, and Ramonda all came rushing in. "Clint! Stop!" Natasha said.

"Yes, stop," M'Baku barked. "You have no right to kill anyone while you are here in Wakanda."

"And I will have no more bloodshed here. If you two have issues, settle it elsewhere," Ramonda ordered.

"I think Agent Barton is dead set on settling all our issues here. And I have a feeling it ends with that arrow in my eye," Loki muttered.

"Jeez, you think?" Barton asked sarcastically.

"No one is killing anyone in my lab!" Shuri shouted. The genius girl started to approach Barton but her mother held her back. "Look, I'm sure you two can work out any differences in a more, you know, less violent manner. Besides, it would be such a shame to put an arrow through one of those flawless eyes."

Loki shook his head, not sure if he heard her right. "Wait, what?"

His question would remain unanswered as two new people also entered the room. One was a man with dark brown hair, a few wrinkles around the eyes, and he was wearing a really retro red and black suit complete with gloves that appeared to have silver wiring sown onto them. And the other was a tall woman with long dark hair dressed in business clothes, carrying a metal briefcase. "Whoa," the man started, "it seems like we came right in the middle of the drama."

"Is this going to take long?" the woman asked seemingly not impressed or shocked by anything happening. "If we're going to help the Avengers, then let's just get on with it." A person after Loki's own heart. He too could get easily impatient and just want to move onto bigger and more important things like this woman seemed to want to do. From their brief statements and just by the way they held themselves, the man and the woman seemed vastly different. She was serious and he was a little more laid back. But then again, Loki wasn't basing this off of much.

"Don't worry this won't take long," Barton said not taking his glare away from Loki.

Rocket, for the first time since Barton had charged in, cleared his throat and took a step forward. "I get that Mr. Sarcasm here can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but why go through all this trouble to kill him?"

The new man's eyes widened and he softly hit the woman's arm in excitement. "Look, it's a talking raccoon!"

"Yes, Scott, I see that."

"But that's so…weird and cool! Be a little excited, Hope."

Well, at least Loki knew their names now. So this was Scott, the "Ant-Man". With such a ridiculous superhero name, he wasn't really sure what he had expected. Hope rounded on Scott. "Be excited? Are you serious? There is absolutely nothing to be excited about Scott! Or haven't you noticed that most of our friends and family have disintegrated into nothing?"

Scott sheepishly opened his mouth to say something but before he could General Okoye and Valkyrie came into the room. The two warrior women always seemed to be together. Thick as thieves. Valkyrie came in, saw all the craziness, and simply chuckled, walking towards a chair off to the side of the room by the window where Loki, Thor, and Nebula all stood. The General however surveyed the situation more thoroughly and ended up standing with Shuri and her mother near the door. "What is going on here?" she asked no one in particular.

"Well, I'd say that the lackey finally pissed someone off a bit too much," Valkyrie said leaning back in a chair with her arms behind her head. Loki rolled his eyes at her, realizing that she had sat so close to him to have the "best seat" to watch what would happen.

Thor shook his head. "You don't know the half of it."

Loki rolled his eyes again. "You're both hilarious. Alright before we continue on, is everyone who is going to be here, here?" And no sooner did he ask that question, did the dear Captain and Rhodey come walking in. "Apparently not."

Both men froze as they saw the scene. Evidently, no one had told them what was happening either. Rhodey came in with a confused look on his face. "What in the hell is going on here?"

"Do you want the whole play by play or just the summary?" Rocket asked.

"Do the whole play by play," Scott said, "I want to know what happened just before we got here."

" _Scott_ ," Hope growled, not at all looking enthused.

"Agent Barton got into a huff when Agent Romanoff told him that Loki was here," Shuri told Rhodey.

Steve nodded, now fully understanding. He hesitantly walked over to where both Bruce and Natasha stood to Barton's right. "Clint," he greeted.

Barton glanced at Steve out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, Cap, how are you? It's been awhile."

"It has. I wish your being here was on better circumstances."

"Yeah, me too…You gonna try and stop me from offing the trickster god too?" When Steve did not answer right away Barton just continued talking. "You know, Thor I get. He's his brother, he's obligated to protect him, although he had no problem fighting him before. But all the rest of you…and to answer the talking raccoon's question, five years ago Loki here came down to Earth wanting to take over and rule the world and he used this scepter that he had to control my mind to help him do his bidding."

Rocket blinked a few times at Barton and then turned to Loki. "Jesus man, did you actually do all that?"

Guilt was nothing new to Loki, but there was something about standing in front of the man who he had brainwashed that just felt like he had been gut punched. Maybe it was because he knew what it was like to be somebody else entirely and then suddenly back to yourself and you're left with this horrible unexplainable feeling of not knowing what to do or what to trust. Because you couldn't trust your mind. Not after it was taken from you and twisted all around. Now, of course, he would not wish that on anyone, but he could not erase the fact that he had done all the things Barton had said and he had inflicted that kind of pain on the archer. All he could do was whisper, "That was a long time ago."

Barton narrowed his eyes at him, not buying any of the remorse coming through his words. Thor shook his head in agreement. "Yes, and I can vouch for my brother's change of character." Loki couldn't help but half smile at that. Classic Thor always trying to stick his neck out for him.

Then Stark suddenly stood up and took a few steps closer to the group, appearing conflicted. He hadn't said or done anything since Loki gave him the note-

 _The note._

Of course, Stark would have read the note from his father and not understand how it was possible. Stark rubbed the side of his head. "Yeah, hi, I'm going to interject with something that is completely off topic." He looked to Loki and motioned to the opened note in his left hand. "Is this…is this for real? Did…did _he_ really write this?"

Loki softly shook his head. "Yes."

Stark looked no less conflicted. "Huh…I'm going to need a minute to think about this. Oh, carry on with what you were all talking about." He walked back to where he had been sitting, while the remaining Avengers and everyone else in the room stared at him confused. They didn't know what he was talking about.

Barton shook his head getting himself back on topic. He eyed Natasha, Steve, and Bruce. "All I want to know is this, are you guys telling me that you're all just fine with him being here?"

"Yeah," Bruce said in an even tone. Then he glanced back at Loki and met his eyes. "We are."

 _Okay, it's official. Bruce is my friend._

Barton just sighed, frustrated and turned to the ex-assassin. "Nat?"

He wanted to know what she thought, what she felt about the matter. Loki already knew what she thought and felt and it was a complicated thing. A day or so ago, she would have sided with Barton in a heartbeat but ever since the battle with Thanos…well it was complicated now. She let out a deep breath. "Clint, listen to me-"

"Oh my God," Barton exclaimed, "you trust him too?"

"Well, if you would just listen to me for five damn seconds-"

"Okay, did somebody change realities or did you all go insane because none of this makes sense."

"Clint-" Steve started in his "voice of reason" tone, but Barton just kept going.

"No, it doesn't make any sense. Did you guys all just forget about what happened in New York?"

Rhodey took a step forward away from where he stood next to M'Baku by the door. "I understand what you're saying. If anybody had asked me three days ago if I would be fine with working with the guy who tried to take over the world, I would have thought it was crazy too. I mean, working with a wannabe tyrant really makes you question your choices."

Loki sighed, "Tyrant? Again, really? A bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Loki," Thor snapped.

"Rude."

Nebula glared at him. "You're not helping."

"Yeah, I realize that. Look, Agent Barton," he tried to take one step forward but the moment he did, Barton pulled his still drawl arrow further back. Loki quickly stepped right back to where he had been. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have been so worried if Barton had let go of the arrow. He could simply teleport away or make the arrow disappear or even catch it with his fast reflexes. But the ritual and healing of his neck and throat had drained him of a lot of his magic and he wasn't sure if he was all good physically after his visit to the afterlife plane. The trip could have some unforeseen side effects and he wasn't about to put himself in a life or death situation without knowing for sure that he could react to things like he normally could. No use in risking it. He tried again. "I understand that you're not happy with me."

Barton scoffed, "Understatement, but continue."

And Loki did. "I cannot take back the past but the truth is we are all in the aftermath of this mess together. I know you're upset and rightfully so, but don't kill me." Barton stood still, thinking it over and then Loki added, "I think I know how to bring everyone who vanished back."

A loud and shocked murmur ran through their little group of people.

"Say that again," M'Baku said.

Loki did, clearer this time with a bit more confidence. "I know how to bring everyone who vanished back."

For a moment everyone's eyes were on him. He could feel Thor and Nebula's stares the most but he ignored everyone else and focused his attention on Barton. The archer now appeared conflicted. He wanted to hear what Loki had to say, but at the same time it was clear he wanted nothing more than to shoot Loki with that arrow of his. The seconds ticked on and on until finally Barton said a begrudging, " _Fine._ " He put the arrow back in the cylinder container slung over his shoulder and he lowered his bow down to his side. "But I want the entire story of how the Avengers ended up working with the homicidal whack-job at a later date."

"Fair enough," Stark said, again standing with his arms crossed. The note was folded back up in his hand and apparently he was ready to focus on the matter at hand. "Now, what do you mean you know how to bring everyone back?"

Loki lowered his hands back down to his sides and turned to Nebula. " _"A soul for a soul."_ Those were your words."

"Yes they were and your point is?"

Loki glanced around at their large group in the room. He had everyone's attention and it wasn't like the day before when they were only watching him to see if he would do anything suspicious. He slowly stepped around the metal table he had been laying on. "We were all just assuming that they were dead. Wanda, Bucky, T'Challa, and all the rest of them." He glanced at Nebula again. "But what you said got me thinking about the Soul Stone and its power and that made me think, well, what if they weren't dead? What if they were taken, entrapped somewhere?"

"Somewhere?" Bruce asked. "Like where?"

"The Soul Stone's power is that it can control and steal living souls. And if the stone stole their souls then they are in a world created by the stone. A Soul World," Loki explained.

Thor's face suddenly lit up. "And all worlds can be visited one way or another."

 _Not much of a witless oaf after all._

"Exactly."

The room was quiet. Everyone was taking in everything he had said. And with the exception of Scott, who just looked confused, everyone had a new light in their eyes. A light filled with something similar to hope. "If we found a way to this Soul World," Shuri started before she was interrupted by her mother.

"Then we could save them. All of them."

Loki nodded his head and slightly smiled. It was nice to see the small family happy to know that there was a chance that they would see T'Challa again. It had been so terrible to see the genius teenager in such pain. Rhodey then said, "So, what was with you coming into the room and doing that ritual thing?"

"Oh, well you see I needed to test my theory. If everyone was trapped in the Soul World then they would not be in the afterlife plane. I needed to make sure they weren't there. Any of them. And they weren't. Not the other half of the Avengers, or the so called Guardians of the Galaxy," Rocket's head popped up, "or that Spider-Kid."

"All of the Guardians?" Nebula asked in a quiet voice.

Loki looked right into those deep black eyes of hers and nodded. "None of them were there, including your sister." Nebula blinked her eyes a few times and a weight seemed to be lifted from her. The knowledge that her sister was still out there somewhere seemed to make some of her depression disappear and if Loki did nothing else, he was just happy that he could be the one to give her the news.

Stark started slowly pacing around the room, deep in thought. "The afterlife place is where you go when you die, correct?"

"Yes. Everyone has their own name for it, Valhalla, Heaven, the ancestral plane-"

"And if Peter and all the rest of them," Stark interrupted, "weren't there then they're not dead, thus proving your theory."

Loki nodded again. Natasha turned to Barton, who had the most hopeful expression out of any of the people in the lab, and said, "Clint, you know what that means. Your kids are still alive."

"Wait, kids?" Loki asked in surprise. "He has…?" he trailed off not believing that the once full time agent slash assassin for S.H.I.E.L.D. was a family man.

"Oh, yeah. I, uh, guess nobody mentioned that-that to you," Bruce mumbled.

Loki shook his head in disbelief. "I cannot believe that he has kids."

Barton huffed, "Yeah, well I cannot believe I just let you live but you know what, it's a day of surprises."

"Excuse me," Valkyrie said waving from where she sat in her chair. "I'd hate to interrupt whatever _this_ is, but can we get back to the topic at hand and ask actually important questions? Like, I don't know, how the heck are we supposed to get to this Soul Universe?"

"World. Soul _World_ ," Loki corrected.

"Like I really care what it's called," she said snobbishly.

"Valkyrie brings up a valid point," the General said still standing between Shuri and Ramonda. Her dark piercing eyes turned to Loki. "How exactly do we get to this other world?"

"I don't know but when I was in the afterlife plane, there was this woman who knew Dr. Strange and she told me that that fellow who was with him, Wong, you remember him?" he asked looking between Bruce and Stark, who both nodded that they did remember the shorter, stouter man. "Well, she said that he would know how to get us there."

Scott must have finally understood what was happening and being said because he cleared his throat gaining everyone's attention and said, "Hey, I'm no expert but wouldn't it take like forever to go back and forth between this Soul World and this world and save everyone?"

Hope nodded. "He does have a point."

"Yeah, he does." Rocket stepped closer glancing at the different members of the group. "Because it's not just the people of Earth, it's all the worlds. How can we get them all back to their homes?"

"So, it's not a full proof plan yet," Stark said still pacing. "So, all the kinks haven't been ironed out to make everything as smooth as butter but I don't think that's the point."

Steve nodded in agreement. "You're right. At least now we have hope."

"And that's more then what we had a day ago," Natasha muttered in remembrance of the past day filled with its loss.

"So," Shuri said, "we must find a way to contact this Wong person."

Stark pulled out his cellphone and started typing away at it. "Already on it."

"And after we get to the Soul World, what do we do?" M'Baku asked.

Loki sighed, "First of all, we have no clue how to get there. If the only way to get there is by a spell then there may be a time limit of how long we can stay over there. If we can travel a more conventional way, then we can bring hundreds of ships and save as many people as possible."

"Wow, look at you," Valkyrie mussed. "The God of Mischief is continuously overcome with the urge to do the heroic thing."

He should just ignore her, but what could he say? The woman had a knack for getting under his skin. After sending her a glare, he turned to Thor and told him, "Control your girlfriend, she's getting annoying again."

Thor's eyes widened and he sputtered, "W-what? No. No-no. She's not my-" Valkyrie raised her eyebrows at Thor. "I mean, we're not-we haven't discussed anything and I-"

Nebula rolled her eyes. "Alright, you two deal with your relationship issues on your own time." Loki couldn't help but smirk. Nebula walked over to the metal table and stood facing Loki. "So what you're saying is, if we go there we don't go specifically looking for anyone who we've lost, we just save whoever we find?"

He hadn't thought about it like that, but that was pretty much what he was saying. He knew Nebula enough to know that all she wanted was to go and find Gamora so he hated it when he said, "I suppose so." She didn't look at all happy with that answer but he guessed they all would have time to fight and figure it out later because Stark had apparently found a contact number for Wong and was calling it now.

Stark had his phone to his ear and he didn't stop his pacing. "Hello? Is this Wong? Oh, good you're still here with us. What? Oh, this is Tony Stark. Yeah, remember me, Bruce, Reindeer Games, and you all fought Squidward and the giant with the axe in the streets of New York? …Well, anyways, the remaining Avengers and I need your help with finding a way to this really secretive oddball world that we think the people who disappeared are in. Hmm? Well you see Reindeer Games went to some afterlife place and talked to some lady," Stark looked to Loki, "who did you talk to again?"

"A wise, bald woman named the Ancient One."

"The Ancient One?" Rocket scoffed. "Seriously don't understand these dumbass names."

It was Stark's turn to roll his eyes and then he continued talking to Wong. "He talked with a bald lady named the Ancient One and-hmm? We're in Wakanda. Why did you want to-hello? Hello, Wong? Are you-?"

And then suddenly behind where Stark and Rocket stood off to the side, an orange sparkler circular portal opened up and out of it came Wong in his reddish brown outfit.

"Whoa!" Scott exclaimed, walking closer to the group.

"Well, that's new," Barton deadpanned.

Rhodey nodded, obviously amazed. "Yeah, just when I think I've seen everything…"

Wong stepped further into the lab and approached Stark who put his cellphone away. Shuri shook her head impressed. "Now, that's some awesome tech."

General Okoye shook her head too, but the way she did it was in a more confused manner. "How did he do that?"

M'Baku shrugged. "My guess would be magic."

"Your guess is right," Bruce told him.

"Stark," Wong said in his monotone way. "I see Strange is not with you."

Stark nodded slightly. "He put up the good fight but when Thanos snapped his fingers…we lost him too."

Wong nodded his head solemnly at the thought of his lost friend but Rocket broke the sad mood by sticking his head through the still open portal and looking around at Strange's sanctuary. "Looks like you can just step right on into this other room. Hey, Loki, you're a wizard right? Can you do this?"

Wong glanced over his shoulder at the raccoon and didn't seem at all shocked by the sight of him. "I would take a step backwards. I would not want to accidently cut off your head." Rocket jumped backwards at that and then the portal closed up.

Scott, still as excited as ever, turned to Hope with wide eyes. "Okay, you gotta be excited by that."

Hope said through gritted teeth, "Scott, shut up."

Wong seemed to ignore everyone else and focus his attention on Loki. "You went to the afterlife plane and spoke with the former sorceress supreme, the Ancient One?"

Loki nodded. "Yes. I didn't know the sorceress supreme part but yes."

The shorter man shook his head either impressed or in disbelief. "That spell to get to the afterlife plane is dangerous and reckless."

"That's what the Ancient One said, but you know desperate times call for desperate measures."

Wong half smiled, a weird thing to see on him. "You and Strange should have got along. Both of you are immensely powerful in the mystic arts and both of you have no regard for the rules. Now," he said getting back on topic, "you went to the afterlife plane to see if those who are gone where there. They must not be there and that's why you need me."

"You catch on so fast."

Hope stepped forward looking bored and annoyed. "If you both don't mind skipping all of these formalities and getting right down to brass tacks, he," she pointed at Loki, "claims that this woman he talked to said that you," she was now looking directly at Wong, "would know how to get us to the Soul World."

"The Soul World," Wong repeated. "The pocket universe created by the Soul Stone. There is a way to get there. Long ago when the Infinity Stones were first forged, the first sorcerer supreme created a spell to go to the Soul World. It was a safe way to travel there because using the stone itself could end up entrapping the user themselves."

"So, you have this spell?" Thor asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, but there is a slight problem."

Rocket sighed, "Of course there is."

"The spell is immensely dangerous. It is unwise to travel to an unstable world whenever one wants to. So, the first sorcerer supreme hide it in one of the many books at Kamar-Taj and enchanted it to only appear when it was absolutely needed."

"I would say that it is absolutely needed," Nebula muttered. "So what do we do? Search through all the books then?"

Wong nodded his head. Well, at least they had a plan. Barton sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Wizards, portals, and enchanted books. When did we land into a Harry Potter book?"

"Funny," Scott chuckled. Nobody else chuckled or said a word. And Hope just gave him an annoyed look. "What?" Scott said looking around at everyone. "I understood that reference."

Steve for some reason half smiled at that last part and then he turned to Wong. "Whenever you're ready."

Wong nodded again, turning around, and moving his arm in a circular motion, he opened up another portal leading to a large oriental looking library. "Follow me."

Everyone didn't follow Wong through the portal to the library in Kamar-Taj. M'Baku, General Okoye, Ramonda, and Valkyrie all decided to stay behind and Shuri expressed much enthusiasm for joining the rest of the group that was going, but her mother told her no. It made sense why Ramonda would latch onto her daughter after what happened to her son, but Shuri still was a little upset about not being able to go. Hope was also going to stay behind but Scott kept persisting that she join him until she finally caved in. She left her briefcase in the lab and followed the rest of them into the library.

The library was broken up into two separate rooms. The first room was the larger of the two rooms. It had at the very least sixty to seventy old and dusty oak bookcases, each one was filled to the brim with large leather bound books. The room was dark, only lit by red and yellow candles, and it was very musty. The second room was smaller with fewer books but these books were for the advanced sorcerers. They were locked up in rust colored chains and the fronts of the books had a kaleidoscope yellow and orange glow to them. At the back of the second room was a small stone pedestal that looked like something should be sitting on top of it but it was empty. And where this empty pedestal stood there were three doors each with a special design on them.

As they all walked into the odd first room, glancing around at the décor, the dear Captain said, "Okay, Wong, tell us what we're looking for."

"Yeah," Stark said walking up to a bookcase, pulling out a red leather book out, and opening it. "Like what do we expect? Some dramatic music in the background followed by some unexplained wind gusts to say we found the chosen book?"

"So, you understood the Harry Potter reference too?" Scott exclaimed.

Wong ignored him and answered Steve's question. "The spell is hidden within plain sight. It will appear like any ordinary page in a book but it should transform into the spell right before your eyes."

"So, we have to look through every page of every book?" Rhodey asked looking around at all of the hundreds of books in just the first room alone. Wong nodded his head. "Well, great."

"Everyone just spread out and take a section," Steve said and then everyone did. Nebula, Rocket, Wong, Rhodey, Scott, and Hope all went into the second room leaving Loki and the founding Avengers to search through the first room. Loki went to a bookcase on the left and took down a green leather bound book titled, _The Life of Agamotto_. Being a speed reader, it didn't take him too long to simply just flip through the pages of the book and by the end of the first ten minutes he had already looked through thirty books, none of which had the hidden spell.

Just when he was reaching for his thirty-first book he heard the loud clunky steps of Thor walk up behind him and stay at the bookcase directly behind Loki. "I doubt that you are already done with the case that you originally started at," Loki muttered, flipping the pages of the book in his hand. "Reading was never your forte, brother."

He heard Thor sigh and then the muscular man walked over so he was at Loki's side. "I just wanted to say…it would have been nice to know that you were going to do a ritual that could've possibly killed you."

"No, it wouldn't have killed me. Just trapped me in the afterlife plane."

"The point is, you shouldn't have done it."

Loki finished his book, set it back in its proper place, and faced Thor head on. He had that classic worried look on his face again. Stars, how he hated it. "As I told Wong, desperate times call for desperate measures. And at least now we have a plan, we have hope that there is at least a chance to save everyone."

Thor blinked and half smiled. "It's good to see you care about other people, brother. However-"

"And of course there is a "however"."

" _However_ , I wish that you would run these sort of things by me."

"What do you mean run it by you?" Loki asked slightly annoyed. "I'm not some child that has to come to you and ask your permission for every action that I do."

"That's obviously not what I meant."

"And what did you mean?" Thor was quiet and his eyes shown with his emotions. It was funny how the big and mighty Thor could have such puppy dog eyes sometimes.

 _Oh, no. I know what he truly wants to talk about._

He knew everything, didn't he? Or at least what Nebula had told him. What his mother had said came rushing back to him: _"Take care of yourself and Thor. You both need each other so I want you both to stop pushing each other away."_ He shouldn't push Thor away and he knew that they should talk about it all but…but not here, not right at this moment. He just wasn't ready for that. Thor glanced down at the floor and fidgeted around until he finally said quietly, "Um, look I think we should talk about…about well, everything."

Loki swallowed and knew he was probably making a mistake. He focused back on the next book in the case. "I disagree."

"Loki, I…I just want to-"

"Now is really not a good time."

"Now is as good a time as any. I know you, I know you are just holding it all in and blaming yourself."

 _Stars, he really does know me so well._

He picked up the next book and start flipping through it. "I told Nebula that you weren't just going to drop it."

"Why the hell would I drop it?" Thor said, his voice getting a little louder. "My little brother is held captive and tortured for months on end-"

"Keep your voice down!" he whispered, glancing over both his shoulders to make sure no one else heard. So far, it didn't appear that anyone had.

Thor just kept on talking. "And he doesn't feel that he can tell me about it? Of course, I'm not going to drop it." Loki opened his mouth, not sure what he wanted to say, but he sighed and shook his head. This was more than just a sensitive subject for him. It was the lowest point of his entire life. It was his weakest and most fearful. He had trouble just thinking about it without becoming a shaking mess and if he was to open up about it-no, he was definitely not ready for this. Thor must have read his unsureness on his face because then he said, more quietly, "Bruce said that the only way we can move forward is to get everything out into the open and I agree with him."

It was sound advice. But then again Bruce always was- _wait_.

"You told Bruce?" He spun to look Thor right in the eye.

Thor sputtered, "W-well, um, yes?"

Loki couldn't believe this. Nebula telling Thor was one thing. She was feisty and prone to getting angry, so he couldn't stay mad at her for just letting it slip out. But what was Thor's excuse? "Why would you tell him?"

"It was in confidence." Loki shook his head and scoffed. It was bad enough that Thor now looked at him like he was a China doll that could break at any moment, but he didn't want Bruce to look at him differently now too. And he liked Bruce well enough, but this was none of his business and dammit, if he wanted to tell someone, _he_ should be the one to decide to do so or not. He put the book down and started to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"The other room in the library and don't you follow me." For a few fleeting moments, he was sure that Thor would follow him but as he entered the smaller room he did not hear Thor's footsteps behind him. Maybe he was just overreacting, but...oh, he didn't know. It was so complicated. He was better at pretending everything was fine. Go on with playing as the egotistical God of Mischief. It was easier than comforting his own mixed emotions.

He wasn't sure if anyone in the room noticed him come in or not, but he supposed it didn't really matter. What did matter was finding the spell so, he went over to a bookcase that no one was at, unchained a book about time, and flipped through it. About fifteen books later, and still no one had found the spell, he heard Rocket mumble, "Hey."

Loki glanced down to his right and saw the raccoon unchain a book from the lower shelf. "Hello."

Rocket slowly flipped through the pages of the large book in his hands and cleared his throat. "I've, ah, I've never seen so many books in one place before."

"I have. The libraries in Asgard probably had just as many."

"Ah." Rocket was silent for a minute or so, looking unsure of what to say next. Loki just continued going through the books wondering what was on his mind. Rocket sighed and stopped looking down at the book. "Look about earlier, I get that you were just trying to see if I was okay and that apparently actin' all jokey no matter what's goin' on is just your thing, but I was really, really gruff and-"

"No, you weren't." Loki glanced down at the raccoon. "You were just dealing with your losses in your own way. As you said not everyone can take their anger out by destroying a room."

"Yeah. I also just wanted to say I know you went to this afterlife place to check out your theory probably 'cause of your friends, but you did go out of your way to look for the Guardians too. And I know Nebula probably didn't paint them as the best and brightest of people…maybe Gamora but the point is, I like to think you looked for them 'cause of me. So, I just want to say, thanks."

Loki nodded and said sincerely, "You're welcome." Truth be told he hadn't really thought about. He just knew who all vanished and he knew he needed to make sure none of them where there. And Rocket was correct, from what Nebula had briefly mentioned when they were catching up he was left with the conclusion that the Guardians were a bit, well, dumb and crazy. So, maybe he had gone out of his way to mention them because of the raccoon. He wouldn't consider Rocket and him friends, not yet anyways, but he certainly did like the guy. Sometimes it seemed like he was the only other person here who understood reason.

 _Person?…Sure, why not?_

"So, why the hell did you try to take over Earth?" Rocket asked bluntly. Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "Were you bored, is that it? 'Cause I can get that. Sometimes I get so bored out of my skull that I feel like I could blow up a moon."

Loki paused. "Please tell me that is a metaphor that I've never heard of."

"Nope. I made this contraption called the Hadron Enforcer that the Guardians and I used to take care of this blue idiot named Ronan but it could literally be used to blow up a moon! I mean, I've never done it but, ahh, a guy can dream." The pure joy that spread over Rocket's face when fantasizing about blowing up moons was hysterical.

Loki laughed, "You know, for a cute woodland creature, you sure can be scary sometimes."

"I ain't cute!" Rocket said, sounding a little offended. "I'm fierce!"

"Yeah, okay," he chuckled not buying into that.

"Whatever man. I'm gonna go and keep lookin' through the books back at my area I was at, I just wanted to say everything that I just said."

"Alright then, you do that." Rocket took the book he had taken from the shelf and walked back to the area he had been at before. Loki shook his head, slightly amused. Rocket surely was an interesting person.

As the minutes continued to tick by, he finished a whole case and turned around to start on the one behind him and when he did so he almost ran smack into Hope. "Oh! I'm sorry." When had she come over?

"No problem," she said shaking her head. "My fault. I wasn't paying attention." She stepped away from him, to the left and started going through the books on the first shelf.

Loki stayed near the bookcase too, taking books from a different shelf. She was interesting too. Her lack of patience and stern expression were what fascinated him at first, now it was that she was able to, whether purposely or not, sneak up on him. Or maybe he had been too focused on the books to notice her, but he doubted that. "You came with the Ant-Man fellow, correct?" he asked, just trying to fill the silence between them.

"Unfortunately, yes."

He smirked at her annoyed tone. "No offense but he acts like a child going to the playground for the first time."

She scoffed, "It's sad that you're not wrong." But no sooner did she say that she looked guilty for having said it. She held an open book in her hand, not at all paying attention to it, when she continued on by saying, "But Scott…he can be really sweet and loyal, even though he never thinks anything through, but he tries to do the right thing and…" She suddenly stopped and glanced over at Loki, who was just standing and listening to her go on and on. "And I'm rambling about my sort of relationship problems with a God."

"It certainly _is_ a day for surprises. I assume that that means you already know who I am."

She nodded. "You're Loki. I'm Hope van Dyne also known as the Wasp."

"The Wasp? Do tell."

She sighed, "My father, Dr. Hank Pym, invented what he called the Pym Particle. Without getting too technical it basically allows people and objects to regain their mass but shrink in their size."

 _Shrink in…size? "Ant-Man". "Wasp". Okay, I think I get it now._

"So…so you and the Ant-Man shrink down to the size of insects?"

"Pretty much," she said unenthused, which was ironic because people shrinking was not some run of the mill thing that just happened.

Loki shook his head, once again remembering what Bucky had said. "Crazier and crazier."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, um, at least you and Scott have each other. He may be a bit much but I'm sure having him around is better than not."

"Yeah," she said nodding her head. "My dad and several of Scott's friends disappeared, but not Scott's daughter Cassie." She suddenly appeared saddened, more than what she had before.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded her head again, her long dark hair getting into her face. "Yeah, I just…my dad and I have never had that good of relationship so, him being gone is not as painful as my mom… She was trapped in this Quantum Realm for over thirty years and we finally got her home and now she's gone again."

As he kept meeting new people, Loki just saw more and more of how Thanos's insane actions ruined people's lives. Here was this woman who had already lost her mother once and had finally got her back after so many years apart to only have her taken away again. It just wasn't right. "If my friends weren't in the afterlife plane then your parents aren't there either. They're all just trapped."

"I know," she said softly. She lifted her head up and shook the hair out of her face and looked at him head on. It was the first time he noticed that her eyes were a vivid shade of brown. "You know, you're not what I expected."

"I hope you mean that in a good way."

"Oh, definitely. I thought you'd be mad and controlling, not so… _nice_." She thought he was nice, but what was really nice was that a person who knew who he was, was able to talk to him with an open mind and then judge him. That's what was really nice.

"I've found it!" Natasha cried out walking into the smaller room, the other founding Avengers behind her. Loki and Hope walked over along with the others who were scattered throughout the room. Wong was the first to reach her and he took the blue hard cover book from her. "I found it in a book about stars, if you can believe that."

Wong shook his head as his eyes glanced over the spell. "I do. The first sorcerer supreme loved astrology."

"That might have been a little helpful to know beforehand," Rhodey pointed out.

"It doesn't matter now," Nebula said. "At least we found it."

"Yeah and it only took," Stark rolled up his sleeve to check his wrist watch, "almost an hour and a half." Had they really been here that long? Oh, well. Time flies sometimes.

"Should we head back to Shuri's lab or…?" Bruce started to say in his usual shaky way.

"Yes," Wong said, walking forward. Everyone got out of his way as he conjured up another portal leading to the lab. Everyone that they had left in the lab were still there. Ramonda and M'Baku sat at the silver table waiting patiently for news, Shuri was fiddling with one of her computer screens looking up who knew what, General Okoye stood gazing out of the window, and Valkyrie sat lazily in her chair looking bored. "We have found it," Wong announced as he walked through the portal followed by everyone else.

"You have? Oh, good," Ramonda said standing up. "I was beginning to think you were not having any luck."

"And I was beginning to think that I was going to be sitting in this chair waiting for you lot to come back," Valkyrie grumbled.

"She never stops talking, does she?" Barton asked no one in particular.

"No," the General answered. "But that is what makes her, _her_." Valkyrie smiled slightly at the sort of compliment.

As the group spread out in the lab, basically standing in the places they had before, Wong continued to read the spell slowly and carefully. That made sense. This was probably the first time he had ever seen the spell before. And as they were waiting, Shuri walked closer to the dear Captain and Stark standing in the middle of the room. "I was thinking about what was all said, about how traveling to the Soul World can save everyone but it would take ages."

"Yeah?" Stark said.

"Well, then I thought, what if we continue having whoever goes and rescues people with the spell and then finding a way for them to get home, but we also start working on an alternative plan."

"What do you mean by that?" Steve asked.

Shuri now had everyone's attention, except for Wong's. "If using the Infinity Stones could wipe out half of the universe, couldn't using them again bring them all back?"

Both Stark and Steve were quiet for a moment and it was Bruce who stepped forward saying, "Well, yeah. I mean, in theory I think so."

"So," Stark said thinking out loud. "So, we do the whole rescue as many people as possible as well as do research on how to possibly use the stones to bring everyone back to their own worlds without as much of the fuss." Shuri nodded. Stark gave her a small almost proud smile and a pat on the shoulder. "You're smart, kid. Keep up the good work."

It was a nice thought, but Loki would have loved to point out that they could only use the stones if they somehow managed to steal them all from Thanos. And that didn't seem likely.

"I have finished looking over the spell," Wong said. Everyone turned to him. "The spell is extremely old and not what I am used to, but I have been able to understand the basics of the warnings and the steps of it. Once in the Soul World and you wish to come back, you can bring back as many people as you have saved, but unfortunately when the spell is enacted you can only bring five people with you."

"Only five people? Only _five_?" Stark said, shocked.

"Technically," Wong continued, "four because one magic user must go with you to get you and everyone you save back."

This certainly was a hitch. With only five people being able to go at one time…that wasn't that big of a search party. Rocket sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Great and how exactly are we supposed to determine who goes, old wise wizard man?"

Scott shrugged. "We could drawl straws."

"We are deciding who gets to go on a rescue mission in another world, we are not drawling straws," Rhodey almost snapped.

Scott sheepishly looked down at the floor. "It was just a suggestion."

"Only one person I trust to decide," Stark said looking right at the dear Captain. "Call it Cap."

Steve blinked at Stark in surprise. He was shocked and a bit a taken back but anyone looking could see the gears spinning in his head. He was already coming up with a plan like the good soldier he was. "Alright," he said quietly. First he stepped up to Ramonda, M'Baku, and General Okoye. "You have all given us so much over this past day and a half. You have all lost blood and I can't possibly ask any of you to do this when you have your own people to look after."

Then he glanced at Valkyrie. "And I can't speak for Thor, but you are probably best served looking after the Asgardian refugees." Valkyrie gave him a simple nod and for the first time in a while seemed unable to come up with a smart comment as a comeback.

And finally he addressed the rest of the group. "I still believe that we should try to help the remaining people on Earth. I would like a small group to go out and do this. I was thinking of Natasha, Hope, and myself, but in order to do so it would be nice to have someone who could handle all of our communication systems and to tell us where we need to go next. Shuri, I think that job falls to you." Shuri looked speechless and a little happy. "Tony, I know you want to go more than anything, but I think that you, Bruce, Thor, and Loki need to stay here and do your research on the stones. If the only way to get everyone completely back and to their homes is to find a way to wield the stones ourselves, then we need you two," he pointed at Bruce and Stark, "to figure out the science of it and you two," he pointed to Thor and Loki, "to stay behind because you understand the stones more than any of us." Stark nodded looking disappointed but he didn't put up a fight. "I think that Clint, Scott, and Rhodey should be the ones to go to the Soul World."

"Wait, me?" Scott asked, sounding like this was a crazy idea. And it was, it was completely crazy.

Steve nodded. "Sam trusted you enough when he called you to help us last year and I trust you enough to go and do this."

Scott's eyes lit up and more than ever did he look like a child going to the playground for the first time. "Well, uh, I don't know what to say."

"I do," Shuri said. "You still have a spot for one more person. Who's the last person going to be?"

Steve glanced between Nebula and Rocket. "It should be one of you but I leave the decision making up to you two."

Both of them were silent for a few seconds before Rocket sighed in defeat. "I'm going to save myself the twenty minute argument and say that Nebula can go." Nebula turned in surprise to face the raccoon who just shrugged. "What? You'll look for Gamora and she'll look for the Guardians so, it will all work out." Nebula shook her head that she agreed. She appeared not to be touched that Rocket gave her the last spot to go to the Soul World but Loki knew better by just looking for the emotion in her eyes.

"So, then it's settled," Rhodey said crossing his arms. "Clint, Scott, Nebula, Wong, and myself are all going."

That's what it appeared to be, but apparently not.

"I am not going," Wong said.

Everyone turned to stare at the sorcerer, wondering if they heard him correctly. Bruce stepped forward, rubbing his temples. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I know it seems unnecessary now, but I still must protect the sanctuary. If the sanctuary falls then all other sorts of threats can come and attempt to destroy the Earth."

M'Baku scoffed, "You're right that does seem unnecessary considering the Earth has already been attacked and successfully."

"Leave him alone," the General snapped. "He is only doing what he feels is right."

"So, if he's not going, what do we do?" Scott asked. "Put out an ad saying, "Wanted: One Magic User"?"

Hope rolled her eyes. " _Scott_ , seriously?"

"We don't need an ad," Natasha said in realization. Guess she figured out what Loki already had. She turned around and nodded to him. "We already have another magic user."

Barton followed her gaze and his shoulders slumped down in defeat. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Evidently not. Well, this is going to be _so much_ fun," Loki muttered sarcastically. Nebula he was more than okay with, he no qualms with Rhodey, in fact the War Machine was kind of interesting too, but he had a problem with the other two. Scott was beyond annoying and he had no patience for that and Barton…well, he was fairly certain that Barton was going to end up trying to shoot him with an arrow again, although this time he wouldn't have anything to say to change his mind. But what could he do? If Wong was going back to the sanctuary then he was the only magic user they had who could enact the spell.

"Here is the book," Wong said handing the opened book to him. "Keep it with you at all times because I do wish for you to return it in good condition as soon as possible."

"Once a librarian, always a librarian," Stark mussed.

Wong didn't react and continued talking. "My suggestion would be that you all get some rest and that first thing in the morning you enact the spell."

Loki nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you for your help, Wong," Steve said offering him his hand to shake.

Wong took it and shook it heartily. "It was the least I could do."

"Ain't that the truth?" Valkyrie mumbled.

Thor slapped his hand to his forehead. "Will you behave?"

"No."

"Well, I tried."

With that, Wong nodded to the rest of the group, reopened a portal leading to Strange's sanctuary, walked through it, and closed the portal. Steve glanced between the people who were all going to the Soul World. "I suggest that you all take Wong's advice and take the rest of this time to rest."

Loki shook his head in agreement. He marked the page in the book, closed it, and started to leave the room, calling over his shoulder, "I believe that Agent Barton is going to discuss his problems with this plan, so I'm just going to leave and rest up."

The last thing he heard was Barton saying, "You bet I have some problems with this."

…

It was nighttime. The sun had set again and the shiny stars twinkled brightly. Loki had left the lab and went back to the room that was unofficially his (and Nebula's). He spent close to an hour reading over the spell, the steps, the warnings, and the description of the Soul World. The description was what fascinated him the most. According to the old text, the Soul World was ever changing in size but stayed consistent with what was there. All four seasons were present to accommodate for any and all walks of life who may be there. Then Nebula came in.

"Barton's still complaining about me?" he had asked her not looking up from the book.

"Yup. Nobody can shut him up. Although, it was kind of funny when that Valkyrie girl told him to just get over it."

He couldn't help but half smirk at that but it quickly disappeared. "He has every right to be angry."

"Yeah, but there is a fine line between angry and annoying and he crossed the line into annoying the second he came bargaining in threatening your life."

"I don't know, maybe I had that coming."

"Maybe. What was with the bow and arrow?"

Loki chuckled. "Yeah, uh, that's his superpower, I guess? He is an excellent marksman and he chose the bow and arrow instead of a gun. Props to him for daring to be different, but it does seem a little…I don't even know the right word. Which word do you like better, ridiculous or obnoxious?" When he didn't get a reply he turned around in his chair. "Nebula?" The blue girl had taken a seat on the couch and fallen asleep sitting up. He smiled at the image and quietly left the room. Best to let her get some sleep.

He tried sleeping himself, in a different room not too far from the one Nebula was in, but he couldn't shake the uneasy anxiousness that had took hold of him the moment Wong had said he would not be going, meaning that Loki would have to. He wanted to go. He wanted to be involved in saving his friends and perhaps others, but…there was something about going somewhere with very few people made going with Barton seem worse. He couldn't run away from facing the man but he hated feeling so guilty all the time. It was hardly healthy. And then that telltale voice in his head, his voice, said:

 _But you deserve the guilt._

So, he stopped trying to sleep and walked through the black sleek building exploring the many variety of rooms until he grew tired of that and ventured outside. He didn't go far, just to those steps that he had sat on with Bucky before the battle. He sat down on the top stair and looked around at how the city still seemed awake with the lights and yet, the stars were still visible. Wakanda never ceased to amaze him. He thought that maybe he would just have some alone time but then he heard footsteps approach him and the deep voice of his brother say, "You're up too, then?"

"No, actually I'm down."

Thor sat down next to him on his left and sighed. "One day, I'll learn to stop asking dumb questions. How's this? Why are you awake?"

Loki didn't mean to get snarky. He was still tired and that didn't help, he just couldn't sleep. He had already pushed Thor away once so he decided to not do it again in one day. "I'm just thinking about tomorrow and how half of the search party doesn't trust me. Forget trust, Barton would kill me given half the chance."

"He'll come around," Thor said in his borderline naïve way. "Everyone else has. Everyone else sees what I see."

"And what do you see?"

Thor was quiet for several long seconds before releasing a deep breath and turning to meet his eyes. "I used to think it was a changed man. I thought that you had finally come around and seen the error in your ways. But now I see what was truly there the whole time; a once but still hurting victim."

 _Oh, stars above, not this again._

"Look, Thor-"

"Loki if you don't want to speak, fine, but I am." It had been awhile since he had heard Thor's tone have a little edge to it. But as quickly as it came it was gone. What he said next was filled with such genuine remorse and sorrow that it took Loki aback. "Brother, I am so sorry for everything. I'm sorry I treated you as anything less than my equal. I'm sorry that I just let you be ignored, that I didn't see it right away, like the witless oaf that you always claimed I was. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you and all the pain you have endured. I'm sorry I couldn't see that you were being controlled by that monster. I…I have made so many mistakes when it comes to you, brother, and I don't expect you to just forgive me automatically, but I want you to know that if you need me for anything at all, I'll be there for you."

Everything Thor said was enough to leave Loki stunned, speechless, and a little annoyed because as much as he wanted the comfort he didn't want the pity. But he didn't feel any of that, in fact everything Thor had said started to blur together after he apologized for one thing in particular. _"I'm sorry I treated you as anything less than my equal."_ What did that mean? Was he reading too much into it or did that mean that Thor thought-? He didn't dare hope but was it possible that Thor thought of him as his equal? He was choked up at the thought. "You…you just said…anything less than your equal? Did you-did you ever think of me…as your equal?"

He was setting himself up for heartbreak, he just knew it. Thor loved him in his own way but he had not thought of Loki as an equal when they were younger and he sure as hell didn't now. He shouldn't. Thor's gaze was filled with something foreign. Something that might have been described as vulnerable. "I…when we were younger, I wasn't very open when it came to my emotions. I mean, if I was angry or joyful, people knew it. It was everything else that I kept to myself. And I kept my praise for you quiet too. You have to know that I always thought the world of you. You were always ahead in school, always showing off you intellect with your witty comebacks. You were your own person, you chose magic and daggers as your weapons even though everyone tried to talk you out of it. You stayed out of trouble and when you were in trouble it was because of those damn brilliant pranks of yours. It was like you decided if you were going to be in trouble it was going to be for something dramatic, not something stupid. No, Loki, I didn't think of you as my equal, I thought that you were better than me."

Loki felt like he had been slapped across the face. "What?" he said in barely above a whisper. His head was spinning and he did not understand. Stars, how he did not understand.

But Thor, who apparently didn't hear him, just continued talking. "I mean, here I was the problem child, going out, drinking, causing fights and disturbances-"

"Wait-wait!" Loki shouted, waving his hands in the air. "Go back, go back, go back to what you said before. You…you thought that-that… _I_ was better than-than _you_?"

Thor shook his head yes. Loki's mouth fell open. "Yes, brother I did, I still do sometimes. Like I said before, I wasn't a very open person. I always thought it, I just never said it. You were the brilliant one, who had your life together. I was the one failing basic math and going out getting myself incapacitated on school nights. That's why I tried so hard to please father and everyone I met, I wanted to show that, even though I was hardly as smart or as clever as you, I had my own strengths. And that's why sometimes I made myself look better than I actually was when I told stories about battles. I…I never thought that I was hurting you brother. I just…once I had an ego I just didn't stop because I enjoyed the attention. I-I didn't think…and by the time I saw everything that I had done…it seemed like it was too late."

For the first time in a long time the tears in Loki's eyes were not because of sorrow or guilt. "This whole time…I just wanted to be your-your equal and this whole time you thought of me as… _more_ than your equal."

"Yes," Thor said softly. Loki had been speechless plenty of times but never had he been so shocked. The thing he had wanted his entire life, to be seen as Thor's equal, hadn't taken him proving himself. It had just taken him being himself and Thor had thought it. He had always thought it. He was too overcome with a feeling of acceptance that he couldn't even think to be upset that Thor had kept silent about it for so long. He glanced down at his folded hands and shook his head feeling the sting of his tears. Thor asked, "Are you, are you alright?" He placed his hand on Loki's back and softly patted him.

Loki wiped his hands at both of his eyes. "You're just full of surprises, you know that?" He took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears but he wasn't at all successful. "I wish you had told me."

Thor shook his head in agreement. "I should have. I'm sorry I didn't." His hand moved so that his entire arm was around Loki's shoulders, holding him tightly. "I wish you would have told me what you were going through instead of bottling it all up."

He should have. If he had confronted Thor about this years ago then maybe Thor would have told him what he just told him now and then maybe…there was no point in dwelling on the "what ifs". They couldn't go back and change anything, they could just move forward. Loki swallowed. "I should have told you about Thanos."

Thor sighed tiredly, "Loki, if you are going to blame yourself again-"

"No, I mean, I should have told you about what happened."

Thor paused. "Are you sure? I don't want to push you."

"You're not," Loki whispered, already feeling his hands start to shake. "And I don't think I'll ever be ready to talk about this so, now is as good a time as any." He took a deep shaky breath and he let it out. And then he began to tell him. "So, Thanos, he wanted my help to get the Tesseract for him and he said that in exchange for vowing to help him he would give me a chance to prove myself as a king. You have to remember that this was right after the whole Bifrost thing and I wasn't really looking for a chance to prove myself, I was just looking for a way to…end it all." Thor held Loki tighter. "So, I said that I wouldn't help him and thus started the daily torture…" Why did talking about this or even thinking about this always turn him into a teary eyed mess? "You know, sometimes I-I would just sit there in my cell, hours…hours after whoever's turn it was to bloody me up was over, and I would think, what had-had I done, what had I said to deserve this."

"Nothing," Thor said softly.

Loki paused for a few seconds because he needed a moment to pull himself together. "When I thought life was going to be nothing but endless pain, that's when I met Nebula. She was the only sane person on that damn ship. She would sneak into my cell and we would talk, just talk about anything we wanted. I talked more to her than anyone else in my life, except for you, mother, and Odin. She made it bearable, you know? I had something to look forward to. And eventually, when Thanos couldn't break my mind by using his disgusting and ugly Black Order he used the Mind Stone. It only took _two_ times of him using it to completely warp my mind. _Only two_."

It had always bothered him that he had been so weak, that he had just fallen prey to Thanos's trick. Thor shook his head and gave Loki's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "The stone has unmatchable power, not even the most powerful being could be completely immune to it. What you did in New York was not your fault."

"Then why do I feel like it is?" he asked turning to meet Thor's gaze for the first time since he started talking about what had happened on Thanos's ship. "You cannot be told what to do unless deep down you want to do it."

"And I say you're wrong."

Of course he would say that. "It was so bizarre, Thor. It was like these new ideas were just pushed into my head and I didn't even question it because it felt like they were mine. I wasn't like Barton or Selvig, because I didn't know deep down that this was wrong, that this wasn't right. I didn't know to fight back…Thanos's control over me only broke when I learned that mother had died." Remembering what that moment had been like, to finally see things clearly and be overcome with overpowering guilt and to realize that his mother was gone, broke his heart all over again. "I-I saw her…in the afterlife plane. She wanted us…us to stop pushing each other away."

Thor neither looked surprised nor shocked about learning that he had seen their mother. He just mumbled, "I think we're on the right track."

"Yeah. _Yeah._ You know, I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm not the Prince who fell from the Bifrost but I'm also not the psychopath who attacked New York. I'm…I'm just…"

"You're still Loki Odinson, my brother and friend."

Loki humorlessly chuckled, "I'm glad one of us is still so sure about that… And about what I did to… _father_ , I didn't take the throne because I wanted it, I took it because I felt like he was just so unworthy of it and I wanted to try and make up for my mistakes. I realize sending him to Earth with no powers was vengeful and idiotic, but it is what it is." Thor nodded his head, in some sort of understanding.

The two brothers sat in a calm quiet, both thinking over the series of revelations that had just occurred. And Loki honestly felt better than he had in a very long time. It was like a huge burden had been lifted from him. It was like there had been this never ceasing pressure and feeling of failure that had been sitting on his chest for years that he had never really noticed until the moment when it dispersed. The moment he learned what Thor had truly thought about him. Its absence made him feel lighter than air, it made him feel like everything would work out fine. Oh, don't get him wrong, he was still a complicated, inconsistent, hot mess. After centuries of self-esteem issues, it all wasn't just going to go away in one day. But this day was the first stepping stone in healing and in moving on.

He wiped at his face, getting the remaining tears, and he sighed, "And of course I forgive you, you big jerk."

Thor let out a laugh, breaking the quiet mood. "Thank you and I know that you feel guilty so, I forgive you for everything as well." Loki nodded, half smiling. It was good to see Thor looking more like his cheery self. He hated it when Thor was down. He looked like a big sad golden Labrador. "I'm glad we don't have any more secrets."

Loki glanced down at the steps. "Well…"

"What else is there?"

It was nothing major. It was something tiny and irrelevant, but since they were telling each other everything… "It is completely off topic and has nothing to do with anything that we've talked about whatsoever, but I kind of stole the Casket from the vault six years ago."

Thor started. "What? But the last time I was in the vault I saw it."

"Yeah, that was a fake."

"And it looked just like it."

"It's a really good fake."

"Why would you steal it?"

Loki shrugged. "I don't know. It is technically mine, so…"

Thor shook his head in disbelief. "You've had the Casket this whole time. I don't believe it."

"Hey, you don't get to be shocked that I've had a stolen relic for six years when you've kept quiet about seeing me as more than your equal for over a millennial."

"…Call it even?" Thor said, repeating the words Loki had said on the battlefield.

Loki smirked, feeling a warmth in his chest. "Sure, Thor, sure."

…

"Man, it's freaking early," Scott mumbled after he yawned a great big yawn.

"It's eight a.m.," Hope deadpanned.

Scott stretched his arms above his head and yawned again. "After over a year of house probation and being able to sleep till twelve, eight is early."

Loki rolled his eyes and looked to Hope. "Why are you with him again?"

"When I have a good answer, I'll get back to you."

Scott frowned. "Oh, ha-ha."

"Are we ready to go or are we just going to stand around talking?" Nebula asked with her arms crossed.

"She has a point," Natasha said.

"Alright," Rhodey said, "let's get to it then."

After Loki and Thor's heart to heart, they had both gone back inside the black and gray building and gone back to their rooms. Sleeping suddenly seemed so much easier to find then it had before. Now it was eight o'clock in the morning and the members of the search party along with Thor, Bruce, Natasha, Stark, Hope, and the dear Captain all stood on the outskirts of the city near the yellow field. The search party was ready to go. They had everything they needed. Rhodey and Nebula were charged with holding onto backpacks filled with supplies. Loki had Wong's book. So it was just a matter of saying their goodbyes.

"Don't worry about how long you're over there," Stark said, his hands in his pockets. "We know there's a possibility that the time zones are different."

"And the rest of us will hold down the fort," Steve said.

"Thanks, Cap," Barton said, checking his arrows before throwing the container over his shoulder. "This is going to be interesting. I've never been to another world before."

"Really?" Nebula asked in surprise.

Loki nodded his head. "I know. It's astonishing how the Midgardians do not travel beyond their own realm."

Barton glared at him. "You know what else is astonishing? My patience at this hour."

" _Okay_ ," Natasha said as she walked closer to Barton. She glanced at Loki. "You don't have to worry about him. We all debated about it yesterday and nobody's going to try to kill anybody." The blonde ex-assassin turned to her former partner. "Yes?"

Barton sighed, "Don't worry Nat, I gave my word. I just didn't like it."

She half smiled and hugged him goodbye. "See you soon."

"Hopefully."

Scott glanced to Hope with a hopeful expression after the two former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents broke apart from their embrace. "You gonna give me a hug too?"

Hope didn't even hesitate in saying, "We're not there yet."

Loki had to smirk at that. Stark stepped forward too. "Well, go luck to everyone and uh, I hope that you all are successful in ah, saving some people."

Rhodey patted Stark's shoulder. "Don't worry, Tony. I'll be searching for your unofficial kid."

Stark nodded, a trace of relief came over his features. "Good."

Stark's "unofficial kid" was of course the Spider-Boy, or Spider-Man or whatever. It was fascinating how the immature and reckless Tony Stark had taken the kid under his wing. Loki flipped open the worn old blue book to the page with the spell on it. Thor was by his side and asked, "And you are sure that you are all rested up?"

"Yes."

Bruce was next to Thor and he asked, "And that you got all the steps to the spell down?"

" _Yes_ ," Loki said slightly annoyed.

It was Thor's turn to ask another question. "And that you won't be pushing yourself?"

Loki turned on both of them. "Stars above, you two are like two old women."

"Why, because we're wise?" Bruce asked.

" _No_ , because you're worrying over me like I'm a child. It's obnoxious."

Stark nodded. "Kinda gotta agree with Reindeer Games on this one."

Thor sighed, "I only worry because you don't seem to worry enough about yourself sometimes."

 _He has a point._

"Well…alright, fair enough."

"I'd say so," Rocket called out as he walked over to the group. "Thought I'd come and see you guys off. Um, I know that you're not lookin' for anyone in particular but if you see the Guardians, help them out, will you?"

Nebula nodded her head. "Of course."

Scott shrugged. "Kinda hard to look for them if we don't know what they look like."

"Oh!" Rocket said, realizing that that would be helpful. "Yeah, okay. So, Quill is of Earth and he wears a red Ravager coat. He's got some major issues, actually most of the Guardians do, and he's really obsessed with music. Drax is, well, a muscular moron who never wears a shirt. Mantis is a petite lady with antenna on her head. Gamora is a green fighter lady. And Groot is a walking talking tree."

The group was silent for two second before Rhodey muttered, "That has got to be the worse description of a group of people I have ever heard of."

"And yet, it's all true," Nebula muttered right back.

Rocket half smiled and crossed his arms. "You'll know it's them because they're all idiotic."

"Big help," Loki said. "Most people seem idiotic to me."

"Well, let's just say that they're even more idiotic than usual."

There was a slight silence that fell over the group because they all knew that this was dangerous and they had no clue how long the search party would be gone for. "I guess it's time," Steve said quietly.

"Guess so," Barton said back, glancing at all of the founding Avengers that he considered his friends.

Hope, for the first time since her arrival, looked at Scott with a soft gaze in her eye. She rubbed his arm. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he said with a slight smile. "I'll find Hank and your mom. I promise."

Stark glanced at Rhodey. "I wish we had more time so that I could fix your suit. Going over there with no fire power isn't the smartest thing to do."

Rhodey just shrugged him off. "Well, we got a god on our side so…" Loki half smirked.

Stark continued worrying over his friend. "Don't do anything stupid over there like getting yourself killed."

"I don't have the track record for doing stupid things, do I?" Rhodey asked with raised eyebrows. Stark laughed.

"Well," Thor said facing Loki. "I…I guess you should be on your way, brother."

 _He's not even trying to hide his worry._

Loki sighed, "We're going to be fine, Thor. Stop worrying." He turned to Bruce. "Make sure my brother doesn't do something crazy, after all he is a witless oaf." At first he had planned to say that last part in all seriousness, but he just ended up saying it with a smile. Bruce nodded that he would and Thor playfully glared at him as he joined Nebula, Rhodey, Barton, and Scott in standing away from the rest of the group. He put the opened book on the ground ready to enact the spell. "Alright, here we go. The first thing I must do is-" Scott who was standing off to his right was continuously stretching his arms and moving them around trying to wake himself up. "Stop it," he told him.

Scott stopped and sheepishly said, "Sorry about that. Just trying to look alive."

 _We have not even left yet and already I'm annoyed._

He shook his head and focused on the spell. "Here we go." He lifted his hands into the air and twisted them around, concentrating on the faint glow coming from his hands. A light orange burst of magic began to encircle them. He slowly brought his hands down, and as he did so the shimmering and bouncing magic became brighter and brighter, until it was almost blinding. He could hear the four at his sides and behind him grimace at the brightness.

 _If it were easy, everyone would do it._

When his hands were back down at his sides, the magic had become a white flash and then he and the group have traveled to the Soul World, leaving Earth behind.

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 _Author's Note Again: Wow. That was a rollercoaster of events to write. I wonder what it's like to read for the first time. Well, here we go. Next chapter and probably a few after that will be set in the Soul World. Yippee! (I don't know why "yippee", it just seemed like the thing to say…)_

 _So, Clint didn't kill Loki, but they will have some issues in the upcoming future. Obviously, issues is what makes drama dramatic. I wanted to stay true to Clint being pissed off at Loki, but at the same time I didn't want him to be completely unlikeable. I think I found a fair balance, but I don't know. You tell me._

 _Wong! He kind of became a cameo, but I do love his character which is why I brought him back in the first place. Maybe I'll bring him back again in the future._

 _Loki and Hope friendship? Again, not at all the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about these characters, but you know. They're both smart, with parent issues, who feel like they're surrounded by dumb people. I thought why not. Besides we're not going to see the characters we left in Wakanda for a little while, so I wanted to do as much with her as possible._

 _Tell me, somebody please, what do you think about the plot twist that the whole time Loki wanted to be Thor's equal, Thor thought of Loki a more than his equal? I was literally writing down some ideas for the conversation between the brothers, thinking, "Okay, so Loki is going to tell Thor about Thanos but I should lead in with Thor apologizing." And then as I wrote down some lines that I thought were good, I was like, ""I'm sorry for treating you as anything less than my equal?" I wonder what that could mean-Oh!" And then boom! Plot twist formed in an instant. (Seriously, tell me what you think because even though I have about 160 reviews I still feel unsure of myself as a writer sometimes.)_

 _I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll be working on the next one soon! Ta-ta!_


	12. Chapter Eleven

_Author's Note: And here we are in the Soul World and perhaps it's not exactly what you all thought it would be. But hopefully you still like it. I will talk more later. So, let's get right onto it._

 _Enjoy!_

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 _Chapter Eleven: Even More Idiotic Than Usual_

 _A Spell to go into the Soul World, the Pocket Universe Created by the Soul Stone, One of the Six Infinity Stones:_

 _Every and all spells are heavy with warnings that draw in detail what horrific outcome may fall upon onto whoever the enactor of the spell may be. But this certain spell is less dangerous when being practiced and enacted but rather this spell is dangerous because of the world it leads to. The Soul World is ever changing in size and even in its shape; the landscape is always consistent with all four of the seasons being presented to ensure that any and all creatures and life forms may survive in a habitat similar to the one on their own world; as more or less individuals are arriving into the Soul World or escaping the Soul World. Because of the lively nature of the World and of the Stone, that has been recorded to entrap its users, it is unwise to travel to the Soul World. If however it proves necessary to do so, there are a few measures that must be followed. No more than five individuals should go to the World at one time. After some slight experimentation, it has been found that those who try to enact the spell with more than five have experienced hazardous results, including the dislocation of one's arm and the shattering of one's fingers. The reason behind these results is still left unclear, the only thing that I can possibly think of is because of the Soul World's constant fluid form such Earthly laws that we have come to rely on do not apply. Even with only having five individuals go at one time there is still a slight chance for issues to occur, nothing as painful as three shattered fingers but issues all the same. One such occurrence saw five individuals go to the World and all of them be separated from each other. This was clearly unhelpful but not life-threatening and such an occurrence has only ever happened once…_

And of course, the thing that had absolutely zero chance of happening, happened to them.

Loki had woken up in a sort of daze, the last thing he remembered was the orange magic around him and the others turning blinding white and then…nothing. Calm darkness seemed to beckon him forward until this moment when he awoke with a start. He was laying in the grass under a large oak tree that had amber, orange, and golden painted leaves rustling in the wind. And he was alone. Completely and utterly alone. He sat up, feeling the crisp breeze and the warm sun hit his face simultaneously and he surveyed the area looking for the others. None of them were where he could see them. And then he remembered what the spell had said.

 _You have got to be kidding me._

What percentage of chance did they have that this would actually happen? That they would be separated? Maybe, hopefully, he was the only one separated from the search party. Perhaps Nebula, Rhodey, Barton, and Scott were all together. Or maybe bad luck was just going to follow them all. At any rate, he was here in the Soul World and he, like the other members of the search party, had one singular purpose for being here: save whoever he found. So, he pushed away his amazement for the autumn colored section he landed in, he pushed away his concern for Nebula who possibly was on her own, and he stood up and started searching.

The place he had woken up in was a scenic and abandoned autumn woods. And so far, as he walked through the littering of leaves and over up growing roots from the large oak and maple trees, there was no one else here. How strange. He had expected to see just groups of people standing around, looking lost and confused. Oh, well. If he had vanished into dust and then woke up here, not having idea what just happened, he would've probably looked for shelter. Maybe there were buildings hidden away in these woods, a city similar to the ones the people left behind. He had no idea. At this point it was just a guess. So far, in any direction he looked just saw the autumn forest expand on into forever.

 _Slow going, indeed._

If just this one section was so vastly large, just imagine what the whole of the Soul World was. The only positive thing that was on his and the rest of the search party's sides was that there was no time limit to how long they could be here for.

This place reminded him of the afterlife plane in many respects, they both were huge in size and scale, they both were beautiful places beyond compare, and they both had this indescribable air of calmness and peace infused throughout the land. Although, it was easy to say that the afterlife plane was the most beautiful and peaceful place he ever had been to and he would never be to such a place again in his lifetime. But unlike the afterlife plane there were more signs of smaller life forms, such as a good twenty to thirty birds, all different kinds in many different hues, sitting up in the treetops and bushy tailed squirrels searching the ground for fallen acorns. There were other little creatures that scavenged the ground and trees for food and shelter. Their movement around and their chirps and squeaks were the only things that made the forest not an eerily quiet place.

And there was the sound of a running stream. It was in his best interest to follow the sound and find the stream. Because for one, there was a chance he would be able to find people nearby who did not want to leave a perfectly good water source and two, Nebula and Rhodey had the backpacks filled with supplies including fresh water. He pushed his way through a batch of waist high brown and green bushes and saw a clearing surrounded by trees at least fifteen stories high and in the middle of the clearing was the trickling clear stream. As he got closer to the moving waters, he flicked his hand and conjured up a sleek unbreakable bottle to fill with the cool water. He knelt down by the stream, taking note of the perfectly smooth and polished stones that lay on the bottom of the stream and of how the water reflected the pale blue sky making the clear water appear blue.

It was these small details that amazed Loki. It felt like he was in a real woods, not a woods made by an Infinity Stone. Did the Soul Stone create such a bright and nearly perfect looking world? Or did the stone's wielder have something to do with it? He preferred the first option because to believe that Thanos, with his cruel love of inflicting pain, helped to create such a simplistic and yet, amazing place…it _was_ unbelievable. Not even just that, he _couldn't_ believe it. The Soul World was ever changing, the stone probably didn't need anyone's help to shape the world it was making. And that lead to the thought that had been floating around Loki's mind to finally come fully to light:

 _Does Thanos even know about the Soul World?_

The realistic, pessimist in him said yes. Thanos was probably the only living being in the universe that had such a vast knowledge of the stones and their infinite powers. He doubted that Thanos wouldn't know that the Soul Stone could create its own separate world. But there was a small, hopeful and mischievous part of him that wanted to believe that Thanos had no idea that the Soul World even existed. Hopeful because if the mad Titan did not know about the Soul World then the plan to save all the people could be continued without being found out and mischievous because to slowly but surely undo the one thing that Thanos had spent so many years trying to accomplish gave Loki a rush of justified payback. If he thought long and hard about it, he wasn't just here because the others needed a magic user or because he wanted to help his friends and whoever else he found, he was here to participate in an act of defiance against the so-called most powerful being in the universe. It filled him with an uneasy troublesome feeling and an almost gleeful feeling.

It was certainly odd. His continuous mixed emotions.

With his bottle filled to the brim with water, he screwed on the lid and sighed. There was no point in just sitting here by the running stream. He needed to continue the search. He should-

And at that moment a man somewhere behind him, cried out, "Arghh!"

Loki jumped to his feet and spun around "What in the world-?" A muscular man, maybe about his height, wearing no shirt with odd red designs all over his body came charging down the hill at him with two long knives in his hands.

Well, this was unexpected…

He conjured up two daggers immediately and just in time too, because no sooner did he do so, the man sliced one of his knives at him. He easily side-stepped it and grabbed onto the man's thick wrist. The man tried to yank his wrist back, but he held on tight, so the man tried to stab him with the knife in his free hand. With one focused concentrated thought, Loki made the knife coming at him vanish in a flash of green. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop the man's fist from coming in contact with his side, causing him to be knocked down to the ground. He had not expected the man to have such strength to him. Then the man came at him again and Loki threw a small green shield forward which knocked the man off of his feet. He didn't get up but rather stayed down with a sort of dazed expression on his face. Loki however was on his feet immediately and stood over the man, pointing his dagger at him. "Now, do you find telling me why you just started fighting me for absolutely no reason?"

But before the man with the red designs on his skin could answer another man called out, "Hey, dude! Back off!" Loki looked back up to the top of the slight hill and saw a rugged man in a flowing leather red coat pointing two blaster guns at him. And before he could even think, the man had fired both of them at the same time and the two blasts hit him square in the chest and sent him flying back at least three feet. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and a loud groan.

Alright now he was irritated.

He quickly sat back up and regretted it immediately as his chest felt like it had been hit with two sledge hammers. "Oh, joy to the blessed world…" The man came running down the hill with his two guns in his hands followed by a very pale and small woman dressed in green and black. The man looked ready to fire again if necessary and in his mind it was probably necessary because Loki was attempting to get back on his feet. But Loki wasn't having any more of this nonsense. He conjured up another green shield just as the man was about two feet away from him and it tossed him to the side, near the other man, like he was a rag doll.

The woman kept running towards him and just as he finally got to his feet, she tried to reach out to him and grab his arm. But he was too quick. As she tried to reach out for him, he grabbed her shoulder, spun her around, and gave her a shove sending her away from him. She turned around and started coming at him again but he quickly raised his dagger. It was about a foot away from touching her neck, that's how close they stood apart from each other. Her large bottomless black eyes widened in surprise and he knew that she wouldn't try anything else. The first man who had attacked him was a different story. He had tried to sneak up on Loki but apparently this man was not one of the few people who could sneak up on him. Loki turned not moving his dagger pointed at the woman and met the gray eyes of the man and held out his other dagger, stopping the man in his tracks. "Please don't."

It would appear that they were at a standstill. To his left was the woman, to his right was the muscular man, and several feet in front of him was the man in the red coat, who was having trouble getting back up. He doubted that he had hurt the man that much, maybe he had just bruised his ego. The man finally sat up, breathing deeply and he shook his head after seeing the situation. "Well, this is lovely." Then he glared at the muscular man. "Why do you have to get into random fights with guys with ninja moves?"

The muscular man shrugged. "He looked intimidating."

Loki was confused. _He_ looked intimidating? The man in the red coat huffed, "So, your first instinct was to run over and try to tackle the guy?"

The muscular man again shrugged. "Seemed to make sense at the time."

"It doesn't make sense now," the woman said softly, fidgeting with her hands.

"Alright stop," Loki interrupted, "back up, what is so intimidating about me?"

The muscular man blinked his eyes confused and then he took two steps backwards, much to Loki's confusion, and then he answered the question. "A fighter knows when he is in the presence of another fighter and after the past few days we have had confronting vicious and strong fighters, I did not want to take a chance."

"Okay, fine. Next question is why did you just take a few steps backwards?"

"Because you told me to back up."

"What? No I didn't."

The woman softly said, "Actually, you did."

"No, I-you mean when I said "stop, back up"? That did not mean actually back up. How do you not know…?" It was the first time he noticed that the woman had a pair of antenna protruding from the top of her head. "Wait…" He glanced more closely at the three people around him. She had antenna, the man to right was a muscular man with no shirt, and the man on the ground…that wasn't just any old red coat he was wearing that was a Ravagers' coat. They perfectly matched the description of the people Rocket was always going on about. And they certainly acted even more idiotic than usual. He looked from the woman, to the muscular man, to the man on the ground and said the names he thought belonged to them. "Mantis, Drax, and Quill?"

The man in the red coat raised his eyebrows surprised. "Yeah, who's asking?"

He chuckled. He was correct. "Even more idiotic than usual indeed. You're the people the raccoon talked about." He lowered his daggers and made them both disappear in a flash of green.

The man in the red Ravagers' coat, Quill, shook his head. "Raccoon-wait, do you mean Rocket?"

"Yes."

"How do you know Rocket?" Mantis asked softly, staring at him with those wide back eyes of hers.

"He and a very interesting tree creature both came with my brother to help fight against Thanos and his hoard of minions on Earth."

"Your brother?" Quill questioned. He finally managed to get to his feet and brushed himself off, but he still looked a little disheveled. "You mean that guy who everyone thinks is so hansom even though he's really not?"

Loki blinked. "… _What?_ "

"Is your brother Thor?" Mantis asked.

" _Oh_ , yes. Thor's my brother."

"The pirate angel is your brother?" the muscular man named Drax said very impressed.

Rocket had said that Thor was a pirate angel too during the battle in Wakanda. What was with that? "Why does everyone insist on calling him a pirate angel?"

Quill walked on over, slightly cautious of Loki. "Because apparently to them," he motioned to Drax and Mantis, "he looks like a dude who was born from a pirate and an angel."

"He is not a _dude_ ," Drax said firmly to Quill. "He is a _man_." Well, if this just wasn't the most confusing situation Loki had ever been in… Drax eyed Loki and looked him up and down with an almost judgmental gleam in his eye. And then he finally said, "You do not look anything like him. Are you sure you are brothers?"

Quill rolled his eyes. "Drax, I'm pretty sure that he is sure that Thor and him are brothers. Nobody in their right mind would go around claiming to be related to that guy if he wasn't really."

Loki blinked again. Did he seriously just say that? Thor was no genius and he had many flaws to be sure, but he was not horrible in the way Quill made him sound. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or not, but to clarify for everyone, Thor and I aren't technically related. We're adopted brothers."

Drax looked down right ecstatic. "Ha! I knew they looked nothing alike. It is more likely that this man is related to Mantis then to the pirate angel." Well, Loki and this Mantis girl did both have black hair and pale skin and wear a lot of green and black…so he supposed that claim wasn't _completely_ outlandish.

"Anyways," Quill said pulling his thoughts back to the present. "You got the advantage over us. You know who we are but we still got no clue who you are."

Loki nodded. "Terribly sorry. The whole being attacked part got me all out of sorts. I'm Loki."

"The Key that is Low," Drax said with a nod.

Loki just stared at the man for several long seconds. "That…that is not at all what I said."

Quill half smiled for the first time. "Yeah, Drax can be a nice guy but he doesn't have a full deck a cards."

Drax turned to Quill. "A full deck? I do not have any decks of cards. Cards are boring and time wasting childish games."

Quill inhaled and rubbed his forehead. "He also doesn't understand metaphors, similes, sarcasm, certain symbols-"

"Alright, I get it!" Loki exclaimed, feeling the massive headache already starting in his temples. "In other words, Rocket was being far too nice when describing you people."

"Yeah, they can sometimes be a little," Quill threw his hands in the arm trying to think of the proper word to describe his team, " _unorthodox_ in their behavior."

It was funny how Quill so easily threw members of his own team under the bus but didn't at all mention his own flaws. Unorthodox indeed, but as far as Loki could tell that term applied to all three of the Guardians he had just met. "Well, thank the stars, you're above all that."

Quill was quiet for a few seconds and then asked, as if not completely sure of himself, "Sarcasm?"

Loki raised his eyebrows at the man. "You think?"

"Where is the pirate angel?" Drax interrupted. "Is he around? I would very much love to hear how his adventures in searching for a weapon to kill Thanos went."

"Thor is back on Earth, as is Rocket."

"What about Groot?" Mantis asked in her soft way.

"He is somewhere here."

"Oh," Quill said, sounding a little surprised. "So, you know where here is, then?"

"Yes. This is the Soul World. It is a pocket world created by the Soul Stone. When Thanos gained all of the Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers, half of the entire universe wound up here." Loki was beginning to think that he was wasting his breath in explaining, because Quill just scrunched his eyebrows together, appearing confused and Drax wasn't even paying attention.

The only one hanging onto every word he was saying was the Mantis girl. "So, we are not dead?"

He glanced at her and saw the very real hope in her eyes. "You're far from it. But you are however trapped here."

Quill crossed his arms, suddenly looking skeptical and strangely enough, depressed. "What, and you're not trapped here?"

"No. I am here to help rescue anybody I find," he paused to glance around at the odd colorful people that where half of the Guardians of the Galaxy, "even if that means you people."

"Oh, thank you!" Mantis exclaimed cheerily and she took a few steps towards him so she could throw her arms around his midsection in a happy hug.

"Um…" Well, this was unexpected and awkward. Hugs were fine, when they weren't with total strangers that ten minutes ago were ready to attack him. "You're welcome?" he said still a little thrown off by her sudden hug and when it seemed like she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon, he took hold of her shoulder and pushed her away from him. "Okay, that's enough of that."

"Oh…" she said softly, dipping her head down to glance at the green grass. "I'm sorry. I have heard that the best way to show someone that you are grateful is to hug them."

"Yeah, maybe, but that was just…very odd."

"What was odd about it?" Drax questioned, as if it was the most important question in the universe. "The way her arms wrapped around you seemed completely normal for a hug."

Loki so badly wanted to just walk away from these people and not turn back, but Rocket would never forgive him for that so he stayed put. "It was not the execution of the hug that was odd it was the fact that I do not know her and she does not know me and then she was hugging me. That is what was odd."

Drax looked confused. "Why is _that_ odd?"

Loki huffed, "Because I met her ten minutes ago and you do not just hug someone who you have only just met ten minutes ago!"

"Really?" Drax said surprised. "I had only known the woman who would become my wife for six hours before we started passionately kissing each other's lips."

"…I really did not need to know that-"

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Drax continued, "after the battle rally we stood by the thick red oaks of our planet, kissing and sticking our tongues into each other's mouths."

"Oh, stars, please!" he exclaimed, holding his hands out, as if to will him to stop. "I am begging you to stop."

Drax shook his head, with that judgmental gleam in his eye again. "You have such setbacks. It was a beautiful story that I was about to tell. I'm sure the pirate angel would not find any of what you find odd, to be odd."

Loki sucked in an annoyed deep breath. Even with the new knowledge that Thor had thought of him as more than his equal for most of his life, it didn't change the fact that it always seemed like Loki was being compared to Thor by most people. And he never could seem to get away from that. "You're probably right. Thor wouldn't have my "setbacks" but then again, his level of idiocy is very close to yours so…" He wasn't sure what was funnier, his insult or the fact that the insult seemed to go right over Drax's head.

"So," Quill started. He still looked down. It was really curious how his emotions suddenly had changed so dramatically. "So, if we're trapped here in this…Soul Land or whatever, then we lost against Thanos, didn't we?"

Loki nodded his head, suddenly feeling sympathetic. "A little bit, yes."

Quill sighed and crossed his arms. "It figures." There was something about his tone that threw Loki off balance. His tone was laced with some resentment from losing the fight and a hint of worry, probably because he was separated from the other members of his team, but the overall sound in his tone was guilt. He even looked it. A big tall man with blonde brown hair, wearing a large red coat and leather gloves, feeling and not at all hiding, the gravity of whatever was bothering him.

"Are you alright?"

"Freaking awesome," Quill snapped.

"Oh dear," Mantis muttered. Loki glanced at her, waiting for an explanation. And she gave him one. "When we were on the planet Titan fighting Thanos alongside with three men from Earth and a woman named Nebula, we were close to getting the Infinity Gauntlet off of Thanos." That perked his interest. "But then…" she lowered her gaze and seemed deeply saddened. "We were informed that Thanos had killed one of our teammates and-"

"Why don't you just say it?" Quill almost yelled. "I found out that Gamora died, I lost it, I screwed up the plan, and it's all on me. If it wasn't for me, Stark and that Spider-Kid would've gotten the damn Gauntlet and no one would've been trapped in this never ending forest."

Loki froze. He was surprised by the rugged man's confession of sorts and he felt, not anger or blame towards him, although technically he might be justified in doing so, but he felt a sort of understanding. After all, he had blamed himself for what had happened too. Maybe they were both to blame, or maybe not, did it really matter now? "You cannot put the weight of all of that on your shoulders," he said directly to Quill. "Just because you botched up one plan does not mean you are responsible for it all. I doubt that your actions have that big of an impact on the universe as a whole anyways."

"You're terrible at making a guy feel better," Quill mumbled.

"The point is, the remaining Avengers and the others who were left found a way to bring back the people who fell victim to Thanos. I think it is going to be slow going, but there is no reason for everything to be as bleak and hopeless as it was before."

Drax nodded his head in agreement. "The Key that is Low is right."

Loki gritted his teeth at the sound of what Drax thought was his name. "That's going to get old really fast."

Drax walked up to Quill and placed his hand on his shoulder. "There are probably millions of people hidden throughout this land in need of our help. Quill, you need to stop blaming yourself for what occurred on Titan and as difficult and painful as it may be, you need to stop dwelling on what happened to Gamora."

Quill nodded. "Yeah… _Yeah_. Gamora would want me to stop moping around."

"I personally would love it if you stop moping around," Loki said under his breath and then he spoke up. "And also, you do realize that Gamora is trapped here as well?"

Quill's blue eyes lit up with a shocked and an extremely optimistic shine. "What? Gamora's _alive_?"

"Alive is a relative term for her but her soul is trapped here as well so," the three Guardians all gave each other glances of surprise, "she can be rescued like the rest of you."

All three of them were silent, processing everything he had just said until finally, with a completely new air around him, Quill exclaimed, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find her!"

"And the others," Loki added.

"What others?" Loki just stared at the man. "Oh, right! The other people who disappeared. Sure, sure. Let's do it." And then they all went in the direction that the three Guardians had come from in the first place. Well, Loki would have preferred to have found Wanda or Bucky or someone else like that, but at least he could look forward to seeing the crabby raccoon's face light up when he reunited him with part of his team. The thought made dealing with these people so much easier.

…

Loki and the three Guardians all had been walking through the vast and seemingly never ending autumn forest for maybe about two hours. During that time they found no sign or Gamora or anybody else. All they could seem to find were little woodland animals from Earth and little harmless animals from other realms such as orlonis. The lack of finding people did not seem to hurt Quill's resolve to keep going strong with their search, in fact every minute that went by with him not locating Gamora just made him more determined. He led the group, although Loki had a few problems with this, and Drax was by his side. Loki was behind them being followed, a bit too close he might add, by Mantis. So far, out of the three of the Guardians, Mantis was the most tolerable. She had a soft, easy-going, and innocent outer appearance, which is what gave her an interesting sort of charm. As they all walked in the cool shade given by the large elm and maple trees that surrounded them, Mantis cleared her throat timidly. He gave her a sideways glance. She was fidgeting with her hands again and she seemed unsure of herself.

 _Well, she obviously has something on her mind._

"Yes?" he asked.

She looked to him and then to the ground. "Oh, it's nothing, I was just thinking that I have never seen anyone with abilities such as yours. Those green glistening shields you made were quite impressive."

Her unsureness on how to give him a simple compliment just made her even more charming. She was like a small child not yet jaded by the cruelties of the universe. "Thank you and I'm not surprised that you would not have seen abilities like mine before. As it would seem, traditional magic is a dying art."

She turned back to him with her eyes wide. " _Ohh_. One of the three men who we met on Titan could also use magic."

"Dr. Strange," he said and she nodded. "His magic and mine are vastly different from each other, but I suppose no less powerful. And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, you seem a little on the petite side, so unless looks are misleading, I doubt that you are extremely strong or fierce at fighting. And yet you didn't stand to the sidelines when your friends were attacking me, you were prepared to join the fight. I can only assume that that means you must have some sort of powers of your own."

Drax, who must have been listening into their conversation, looked over his shoulder at him and then told Quill, "He is a smart and perceptive man. Smarter than you Quill."

Quill shrugged him off. "Mr. Green Jeans just got lucky that's all."

"Mr. Green Jeans?" Loki asked both annoyed and not understanding why.

"Guy from a kid's show I used to watch on Earth. He wore a lot a green, so do you, so…it made sense."

Loki rolled his eyes. Quill might just be the most annoying person ever. And he had met a lot of annoying people in his lifetime. "In your feeble mind I'm sure it did. Mantis, you never answered my question."

Mantis softly smiled. "I'm an empath. When I touch someone, I can feel their feelings and even get them to fall asleep. I was going to make you fall asleep if I could reach you."

"Hmm," Loki said with a nod. "I could see that coming in handy." He really could. Such a power was no doubt useful, the only real problem with it was she had to touch whoever she was trying to make sleep. And sometimes it was just too difficult to reach your enemy.

"I'm sorry," Quill said, abruptly stopping and turning around. "Are we just going to ignore the fact that he," he pointed at Loki, "insulted me?"

Drax stood still with a thoughtful expression on his face and then finally said a very straightforward, "Yes."

The annoyed glare that Quill sent Drax made Loki chuckle. He turned to Drax. "There may be hope for me liking you yet." He continued walking and got ahead of Quill so that he could finally lead the group. The section they were in now still had huge, tall trees in every direction but there were also a lot of fallen hollowed out trees laying helplessly on the ground. And then Loki noticed that the forest suddenly seemed horribly quiet and even the breeze stopped.

 _Oh, stars, what does this mean?_

He didn't have too much time to dwell on the possibilities because Mantis was still at his side ready to ask more questions. "So, Thor and then the three men we met and now yourself have all talked about a group of heroes called the Avengers. What are they like?"

Loki shook his head. He was probably just being paranoid. Just because the breeze stopped does not mean that something terrible was going to happen. At least that's what he hoped. "Um, well…most-most of them can be highly annoying and dead set on sacrificing themselves for the greater good like a selfless idiot, but…you know, they're good people." Saying it out loud made him realize that as much as he liked to knock them all down, he really respected the Avengers. He respected their willpower, their teamwork, their cunningness, although sometimes they were lacking in that last one. He nodded to himself. "Yeah."

Quill scoffed, "Most heroes are good people. That's what makes them heroes."

Loki sighed, "There's a difference between being considered a "good" person and being a genuinely _good_ person. And the Avengers are genuinely good."

"…Well, you cleared that up. So, you know a lot about these Avenger guys, then?"

"You could say that. Some of them more than others. I sort of am the reason they assembled in the first place. Then of course the group expanded and then they split up, but now I think the group is back together for good."

"So, you a part-timer or what?"

Loki laughed, "Oh, no-no. I'm not an Avenger."

Mantis started in surprise. "Really? The way you talk about them, I thought you were part of their team."

"Well, I'm not. Believe me, even with Thor and some of the others trusting me, they would never want me on the team." And even if they wanted him for some crazy reason, he probably would decline only for the simple reason that he still felt reluctant to accept acceptance from other people. What could he say? Like he had previously thought, even with Thor's confessions of hidden praise, all of his internal conflicts did not just go away. There was a less dreadful weight on him, but…there was still some.

"Why not?" Drax questioned. "You participated in the fight against Thanos, you are here saving us, and by doing so, you are avenging all those who are trapped here. By definition you should be an Avenger."

"Yeah, that's not how it works."

" _Why not?_ "

"Stars above, you're like a big five year old!" Loki snapped, losing his patience. "Just take my word for it. I am not nor will I ever be an Avenger."

He could hear Drax whisper to Mantis, "The Key that is Low is temperamental."

Loki stopped and spun around, glaring into Drax's dull colored eyes. "Call me "The Key that is Low" one more time and I will turn you into a frog."

Both Drax and Mantis appeared startled, but Quill kept his new air of confidence and chuckled, "Again, Drax here doesn't really understand sarcasm. His people are like painfully literal."

"What part of the look on my face says that I was being metaphorical?" Loki asked, his face completely void of emotion except for his death glare.

Quill just blinked a few times and took a few steps away from the trickster god. "…Drax, maybe you should stop pestering the man."

"Yeah," Drax agreed quietly. _Good_. Now maybe they could just continue forward without all the constant saying his name wrong-

At that moment all four of them standing amongst the fallen leaves and trees heard what sounded like a teenage boy call out, "Hello? Is anybody around? Can anybody hear me?"

Everybody started and glanced around in every direction. The voice sounded close and yet far away, but there was no sign of anybody within their sight. Without anything having to be said, the four split up going in different directions, but they did not go so far so that they would get separated from the group. Quill was heading towards a very impressive red oak tree when he called back, "We're here and we can hear you! But where are you?"

And everyone heard the boy's answer to Quill's question, "Up here."

Quill muttered, "Oh, crap. Guys! I've found him." Loki, Mantis, and Drax quickly came back and found Quill staring up at the branches of the huge red oak. They looked up too. High in the tree branches far above them, was the somewhat helpful Spider-Boy. Or at least that's who Loki believed it to be. The suit he was wearing was no longer the bright red and blue one he had worn in New York, but a shiny metal suit that had the same coloring although not as obnoxious in its brightness. And the suit had the same large oddly shaped black rimmed eyes. No doubt this was the Spider-Boy and no doubt he was stuck in the branches. Protruding from the back of his suit were four golden metal spider arms that were twisted around the boy and that were sticking into the thick branches keeping him trapped where he was. He was squirming all around trying to break loose but it just wasn't working.

"The suit is totally not working anymore," he called down to them.

 _Definitely the Spider-Boy. I'd know that child sounding voice anywhere._

"It's the Spider that we worked with on Titan," Drax said, recognizing the boy.

"Yes," Loki said. "The Spider-Boy. He changed his suit since I last saw him."

"It's Spider- _Man_!" he yelled.

Loki half smirked at the boy's persistence at being called a man when clearly he wasn't. "Sure."

"We must help him," Mantis said, craning her neck to see the boy stuck in the tree.

Quill crossed his arms. "How the heck are we supposed to get him down from there?"

Drax stepped forward and dramatically said, "I will climb the tree, un-sheave my knifes, and cut the boy down from his imprisonment."

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed, " _Or_ , I can do something that is not so dramatic. Spider-Boy, do you have that other suit on underneath this one? That really bright and obnoxious red and blue one?"

"Yes I do and it's not obnoxious."

"That's a matter of opinion. Prepare to drop down."

"What-?" Before Spider-Boy could finish his question, Loki raised both of his hands in the air and twisted them both, making the malfunctioning metal suit and its pesky spider arms disappear in a flash of green. The Spider-Boy now in his bright outfit slightly shouted in surprise as he suddenly started to fall to the ground but he quickly shot one of his webs back up towards the branches which stopped him from falling. He held onto the web hanging about ten feet off the ground for a second or two and then dropped down and landed perfectly on his feet. Spider-Boy exclaimed, "That-that was awesome! I mean, the suit, it's just-it's just gone. How'd you do that? You just made it completely vanish and-wait! That suit is Mr. Stark's and he will kill me if I lose it."

Loki chuckled at the boy's over excitement to everything. "You didn't lose it. I just made it disappear. I can conjure it back just as easily."

"Really?" he asked, the mask's eyes widened with wonder.

"Yes."

"Well, wow, that's awesome too!"

Quill shook his head in mild distaste. "He literally just made a measly old suit disappear. I'm sure any first year magician could do that."

Loki half glared at the Guardians' leader. "Magician? Aren't those the con artists who pretend to have magic but they really don't?" Quill kept his mouth shut.

"Hey," Spider-Boy said, taking a step towards Loki. "Could you, like maybe, make some clothes appear for me? Nothing too fancy or anything. Just something I could put on over the suit. Maybe some sweatpants and a hoodie. Because you see this suit isn't working very well either and it's not all that warm here." At this point, the wind had started blowing again and the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, so for a human boy it probably was starting to get a little cold for him.

"Alright," Loki said with a twist of his hands, conjuring up a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue gray hoodie. He might have gotten them a bit too big for the small and slender boy, but the kid just seemed to get all excitable again.

"That was amazing! Thanks!"

"Yeah, uh, sure."

The boy took the two articles of clothing from him and quickly slipped into the sweatpants. Just as he was pulling the hoodie over his head Quill asked, "Are you ever going to take off that silly mask?"

He paused and then finished getting the hoodie on. "Um, no. I-I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to give away my secret identity to some people."

Loki figured he was talking about him. "Oh, I already know it. You're Peter Parker."

The Spider-Boy, though he supposed he could just call him Peter, was quiet and frozen in place for several long seconds before he pulled off his mask, revealing a surprised young-faced boy with messy light brown hair and clear brown colored eyes. "How the-how did you know?"

Loki shrugged. "Stark and your uncle didn't do a really good job keeping it a secret, oh, and speaking of which, your uncle says he's proud of you."

Peter froze again. "My uncle? You mean-you couldn't possibly mean, could you? _Uncle Ben?_ " Loki nodded. "What?! That doesn't make any-how could you possibly-?"

"Look, let me stop you right there. It's a very long story and I will tell it all when we settle down for the day, but for right now can you just take the message as it is without asking so many questions?"

Peter hesitated, but then he nodded his head. "Okay."

"Alright." Loki glanced between the Guardians. "See? Why can't everybody be as easy going as this child?"

"I'm a man," Peter insisted.

Quill smirked. "Dude, I think you're losing the battle here."

"Shall we continue?" Mantis asked in her soft way.

Loki nodded. "Yes. I think that is a very good idea."

The group slowly started moving away from the tree Peter had been stuck in and they started back in the direction that they were originally going in before they had found Peter. And speaking of Peter, he followed closely behind Loki as well as Mantis. "Just to clarify, you're Mr. Loki right?"

 _Mr. Loki? That's a first._

"Yes, but you don't have to add the mister part."

Peter nodded. "Back in New York, I just _knew_ you looked familiar. I asked Mr. Stark and he said you were Loki and I was all like, "The Loki?" and then he was all like, "Unfortunately, yes." I didn't expect you to be here with these guys in a rescue party."

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect most of what happened over the course of the last almost three days to happen either. You learn to adapt."

"" _The Loki"_?" Quill asked from behind them.

Peter looked at him and Drax over his shoulder and causally said, "Oh, yeah. He tried to take over the world."

Loki stopped right in his tracks and turned to the teenager on his left. "See, I didn't expect you to just bluntly tell them that, but now I'm going to have to adapt."

Peter bit the inside of his mouth and said quietly, "Sorry, Mr. Loki."

"You tried to take over the world?" Quill exclaimed.

 _Here we go again…_

He turned to the two men who were stopped behind him. Quill looked down right mad, like he couldn't believe that he was standing so close to someone who had wanted concur the world. But Drax on the other hand looked uncertain and like he was about to ask a dumb question. And he did ask a dumb question. "Which world did you try to take over?"

Quill slapped his hand to his forehead. "Drax, that doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does," Drax retorted back, "that way I can determine if that world needed to be taken over or not and I can decide if he was in the right or not."

Loki glanced away from everyone's stares filled with their judgment. He would have preferred to be compared to Thor then to be seen as the cruel villain that he wasn't anymore. But there was no getting around it. "Oh, believe me, I wasn't in the right and it was Midgard."

"Which world is that?" Quill asked slash snapped. "I've never heard of it."

And Mantis quietly said, "It's another name for Earth."

Quill's eyes widened and again he looked down right mad. Well, it made sense why he would. Rocket had said that he was from Earth. "What? You tried to take over Earth?" Loki didn't say anything. "I don't believe it. You know what, I do! I just had this feeling that there was something off about you, I just knew it! I-"

Maybe Loki had just reached the limit of how much he was going to constantly take when it came to people getting upset over what he done. Or maybe because of his and Thor's conversation the previous night he was starting to believe, for the first time, that he was not fully to blame for the events in New York and therefore he should not just stand here and be yelled at. Whatever the reason, he gruffly interrupted Quill. "Alright, look, I get it! Everyone's upset with me, everyone doesn't trust me, I bloody get it already. But right now everything that I did is not relevant because I'm just trying to help. I'm just…I'm just trying to make up for past sins."

Mantis smiled slightly and nodded in an understanding type of way. Drax nodded as well, but Quill just stared at him not sure if he should trust him or not. After a minute or so, Drax shoved Quill in the arm. "Ouch! Okay fine." Quill glanced at the ground and kicked a tiny loose rock. He wasn't happy about having to admit he had jumped the gun in his judgments. "Well, when you put it that way…most of the Guardians are former criminals so…but I'm gonna keep an eye on you. Just in case."

Loki crossed his arms and let out a deep breath, which also let out his sudden strong feeling that he had to defend himself. "Fair enough, I suppose."

"So, hang on," Peter said glancing at the group. "Everyone here is a former criminal?"

"Pretty much," Loki muttered.

"I didn't know that," the teenage boy said to himself.

"I did." Quill eyed Loki with a confused glare. "Nebula told me all about you people."

"You know the Smurfette?"

"Smurfette?"

"Another character from another kid's show I used to watch."

"That cartoon also got made into three movies," Peter added, though why was anyone's guess.

"What, really?" Quill asked turning to Peter. "Were they any good?"

Peter shrugged. "Yes and no."

"I want to know how the Key that is Low knows the sometimes traitorous cyborg girl," Drax said, getting everyone back on track.

Loki wasn't sure what made him more irritated, being called "The Key that is Low" again or hearing Nebula called a traitor. "Hey, I don't think she was ever traitorous towards you people. She let Gamora live and helped you destroy the planet creature." The three Guardians stared at him in some sort of astonishment, like they couldn't believe that someone besides Gamora was standing up for Nebula. He realized perhaps that he was showing his emotions a little too much then what he would have preferred so he just shrugged and said, as a way to explain himself, "Nebula and I are friends."

Quill chuckled humorlessly. "Didn't think she would know how to make any friends. Or keep any. She's a bit of a sociopath."

He shouldn't let this annoying little man get to him, but dammit he was. "You know, Quill, you can keep a close eye on me all you want and you can even insult me if you feel the need to, but _do not_ under any circumstance ever insult _her_."

And then Mantis suddenly grabbed Loki's hand. He turned to her in shock and confusion. Her eyes were closed and the tips of her antenna glowed an off white color. She opened her eyes with a deep calm sigh and said, "You care about her. Very deeply." Then Loki realized that she was using her empathic abilities to understand his and Nebula's relationship. "More than most people. Maybe one day you could even lo-"

Loki quickly yanked his hand from her grasp. "Thank you, that's enough." Just like when he had pushed her away from him after that awkward hug she looked hurt. But this time Loki tried not to feel guilty about causing that hurt look because what she had just done had been an invasion of his emotions. But then again, maybe that was normal to her. Maybe it was just her way of understanding people, by feeling their feelings. And Wanda had done a much worse invasion and he essentially forgave her right away. Wanda had seen everything, what had Mantis seen? That he cared very deeply for Nebula in a way that maybe he himself hadn't come to terms with? He realized that nobody was saying anything and that everyone was looking at him. He rubbed his head, trying to ease the start of another headache and his feelings of flusteredness away. "We-we have gotten utterly and completely off track. Uh, we should-we should just keep searching for more people." Before anyone could say another word on the matter, he turned away and started walking in the direction they had been before, through the thick and dense trees. He heard the soft footsteps of Mantis and Peter following close behind and then the loud stomps of Drax followed by Quill.

And Quill, the bloody moron, called out, "Sure. Let's search for more people and we'll all be quiet so you can fantasize about your girlfriend."

It took all the willpower he had to not turn Quill into a frog right there and then. He did not turn around or even glance over his shoulder at the man but he did say through gritted teeth, "Quill, remember what I threatened to do to Drax?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep speaking and I won't threaten to do the same to you, I _will_ do it in a heartbeat."

Quill stopped speaking.

The whole group was quiet for the next ten to fifteen minutes except for when Peter whispered to Mantis, "What did he say he'd do?"

And Mantis whispered back, "He said that he would turn Drax into a frog if he called him, "The Key that is Low" again."

"…Mr. Loki seems nicer then what I thought but he still is a bit hostile. Although, it would be super cool to see him turn somebody into a frog."

Loki slightly smirked. He was starting to like this kid.

…

It was now dusk and what a beautiful dusk it was with its lilac sky as a backdrop for the lush crimson trees. And the air around the group was becoming chillier and chiller. So much so, that they could see their breath when they talked or breathed. Loki personally loved it. After the last few days in Wakanda with its beating hot sun, such a cooler change was welcomed. He was pretty sure he was in the minority. "Okay, I think I'm hating the cold," Quill complained, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"This is not cold," Drax said, appearing not to be bothered at all by the cooler weather. "I've gone to lands where there has been nothing but ice and snow."

 _Sounds glorious._

"That sounds awful," Quill said.

"I don't know," Mantis said, "I like the snowy weather. It is so pretty. And I like the change. On Ego's planet it was only a never ending summer."

"Now _that_ sounds awful," Loki muttered to himself.

Peter chuckled quietly, having apparently heard him. He was a sight to see, all wrapped up in the blue hoodie with the hood on. The only bits of his red and blue suit that could be seen were the gloves on his hands and the odd built-in shoes on his feet. "Yeah, I'm not a fan of the extreme heat either. I don't really do the extreme cold but I do like the spring months. Not too cold, not too hot, just perfect weather with clear skies. The fall isn't bad either, it's nice too…Although I kinda wish the heating in this suit was still working."

"Yes, you said back in New York that Stark gave you the suit and that for some bloody reason he was your mentor."

"Yeah."

"How exactly did that come about?"

Peter let out a deep breath. "Well, it's a long story. Somehow Mr. Stark found out that I was Spider-Man and he came to me needing my help with stopping Captain America. Well, I did and it was awesome! Like, it was so cool, man! Remind me to show you the short film I made of the whole trip when we all get back home."

Loki shook his head, amused and sarcastically said, "Sure. We have to worry about saving half of the entire universe but I can take time to watch your short film."

"Great!" the teenager said, Loki's sarcasm going straight over his head because of his excitement. "Anyways, so then Mr. Stark said I could keep the suit and continue to help people like how I had been doing before. Everything was fine, I guess. I felt like I could be doing more as an Avenger instead of just the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but Mr. Stark said no."

"So what did you do?"

"I had my friend Ned hack into the suit's computer program so I could use all of the suit's potential without Mr. Stark always hovering over me." Loki paused to turn to the boy. He had to smirk at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, I just love it when people do mischievous, sneaky things. Especially to that annoying smartass."

"You're one to talk," Quill muttered. "Alright, I feel like we are walking in circles."

"Well, we're not," Loki retorted back.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I feel like I've seen that tree before." He pointed to the left but didn't clarify which tree he supposedly thought he had seen before.

Drax glanced at Quill with a confused expression. "All the trees look the same. If you have seen one, you have seen them all."

"That's my point! We don't have any freaking clue where we're going and yet all of you dudes," he looked at the two Guardians and Peter, "are following Loki here around like he's the sun or something."

Quill brought up a valid point (who knew he could do such a thing) Drax, Mantis, and Peter were all just following him around as if he knew the way. Truth was he didn't. The spell to go to the Soul World did not have a map, drawing one would be pointless considering that it was fluid and ever changing. And from what they all learned about him, they probably thought that he was not the most trustful individual in the world and yet, they were just following him around. It was like they… _trusted_ him. Mantis and Drax he could see. They were not the smartest of people and they, just like Bucky, could probably relate to being seen as the villain even after they had shown that they had changed for the better. It was the excitable Peter Parker that he could not understand. The teen lived in New York, the very city he had attacked and yet he didn't give him hard or suspicious glares or go out of his way to show that he didn't trust or like him. Peter was the exact opposite of what he should be. He was interested in his magic, he wanted to share his stories with him, and he looked up to him like…like…like the way Thor did. And Bruce did, and Nebula did and Wanda and Bucky and Rocket and Shuri and T'Challa and Hope and Vision. Like he wasn't a completely terrible person who deserved to die unloved and all alone. And it was almost madding because he did not understand why sometimes. He did, deep down he did understand, but right now he didn't.

"Look," he said shaking the thoughts from his head. "Quill, if you are so worried that we are going around in circles why don't you just lead the way again?"

Quill was quiet for a moment before springing at the opportunity. "Yeah, okay! I can do that." He marched forward taking the lead of the group. "Make way for Star-Lord, leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, two time galaxy saver, and boyfriend of a really hot assassin chick."

"I'm sorry, _Star-Lord_?" Loki asked not at all containing his laughter.

"That's my codename. You got a problem with that?"

"No, no not at all," he said brushing him off. "Not at all. I just think it is the most ridiculous name I have ever heard of since "Ant-Man"."

"Ant-Man?" Mantis asked with wide eyes. "Is he part ant, part man?"

"Um, _no_." Mantis looked disappointed. "He just is an average guy in a red and black outfit that can shrink down to the size of an insect."

"That does not sound average," Drax mumbled.

"But anyways," Loki continued, "he has one thing in common with Lord Star over there, they're both the most annoying things to walk the planet Earth…stars above, I owe Sam Wilson an apology for stating that _he_ was the annoying one. He's an absolute treat to deal with after you two."

" _Lord Star?_ " Quill asked through gritted teeth. "Are you saying my name wrong just to piss me off?"

"Yes."

The growing infuriated expression on Quill's face made Loki have to bite his bottom lip to prevent himself from bursting out into laughing hysterically. Quill was quiet for two long seconds before saying, "I don't like you at all."

"The feeling's mutual."

Quill huffed, "I'm going this way." And he stormed off in a direction opposite of what they had been going. The funny part was nobody moved to follow the enraged Quill until Loki started to slowly retrace his footsteps. Apparently, he had three people who were behind him.

It was now getting to the point where the light purple sky had bled into a navy blue mixed with an otherworldly smokey green. And the fog started to roll in. They needed to just call it a day but Quill seemed dead set on continuing for a while longer. As they all tried to keep up with Quill, Mantis said to Loki, "Don't let him get under your skin. He just becomes insecure when he thinks someone is trying to take over his role as leader."

"Yes," Drax agreed. "He does that sometimes because he is pathetic."

The seriousness of Drax's tone made Loki and Peter both glance at each other with a, you heard what I just heard, right?, look. "Do you think he was just being funny?" Loki asked the short teen.

"It didn't sound like a joke."

"No, it didn't." He turned back to Drax. "You do realize that you just insulted your friend, right?"

Drax seemed to ponder over this for a while. "Hmm, interesting. I never thought of it that way." Loki glanced at the teen by his side who looked just as confused as he felt. He wasn't sure what race Drax was but he knew he wasn't a fan of the overly literal, not too smart Drax and he didn't want to judge all of one race but…

Peter glanced out in front of him and his eyes widened slightly. "Where's the guy?" he asked.

"What?" Loki turned in the direction Peter was looking and saw that Quill could no longer be seen through the light fog. "Oh, joy to blessed world, where did that idiot go now?"

"Oh, no," Mantis whispered softly. "What if something happened to him? What if he is lost?"

"Then I will go and find Quill," Drax said taking authority, but Loki shook his head.

"No, this is what you are going to do. You are going to make sure everyone stays right here and that no one wanders away. Got it?" Drax just stared at him with that dumb look on his face for a few seconds but then he nodded slowly. "Good. I will go after Quill and make sure that stupid fool doesn't get himself lost or killed."

Peter started to say, "Mr. Loki are you sure-"

But Loki raised both of his hands to quiet the boy. "I'll go it alone. You need to stay here with the rest of them." Peter nodded not hiding his disappointment and then Loki went off in the direction that they all had last seen Quill going in. Why was it that whenever there was annoying person, he got stuck with dealing with them? First Sam (which he would now take in a heartbeat), then Scott, and now Quill. He wasn't quite sure what Quill's problem was. Maybe he was still reeling from failure on Titan and the loss of Gamora, or maybe he was just a big asshole with issues. Well, Rocket had said that Quill had issues but this seemed a bit ridiculous.

As he continued through the now dark forest, occasionally calling Quill's name to which he got no response, he noticed that the air had gotten bitterly cold. It was calming to him for some reason and at the same time this felt odd because only a few moments ago it was still only a little chilled not freezing. Not that _he_ was freezing. Then he glanced to his right and saw that the forest about twelve feet away from him was completely frosted over. There was light and fluffy snow on the ground and the trees looked dead without their leaves. They had walked all day through the autumn part of the Soul World, hardly through all of it but they had made it to the border of the winter section. That certainly explained the cold.

He stopped in his tracks and hollered out, "Quill? Quill, are you out there?" He stood perfectly still to listen for a response and he didn't get one. He grew impatience. "For star's sake, Quill, you bloody jerk, where are you?!"

Apparently losing his patience and shouting was all it took, because he heard the gruff man call from far away, "Did you just call me a bloody jerk?"

Loki turned from where he was looking at the calming winter scene back to the shadowy autumn forest and saw the tall figure of Quill walking towards him. He crossed his arms and waited for the man to get closer because he was done shouting. "Yes. Yes, I did and you know why? Because that's how you are acting."

Quill pointed accusingly at him. "Dude, you don't have any right-"

"Oh, really?" he said unimpressed. "You start walking ahead of the group at night and almost get yourself lost, at the expense of your friends who care and worry about you, although why is anybody's guess, just so you can prove that you are still a good leader. Tell me, does that not sound like a bloody jerk to you?"

Quill was quiet and something shown in his eyes like regret or maybe it was realization. But regardless, Loki half expected for the man to sigh and then tiredly explain his foolish actions. That's probably what would have happened if a loud and terrible sounding roar didn't suddenly scream throughout the forest. The two men glanced at each other with concern and they both silently agreed to put their feud on hold. They both started speed walking in the direction that the other three where and Quill muttered, "What the hell do you think that was?"

"I'm afraid to find out. Although, strangely enough it sounded familiar…"

He didn't have time to rack his brain for the memory of hearing that roar before because he and Quill both saw Peter, Mantis, and Drax sprinting towards them, all of them had expressions of panicked fear. Peter was in the lead, shouting out, "Run! Run! Run!"

Quill on instinct reached for his two blaster guns. "What in the-?"

Drax waved his arms frantically. "No time to explain! The Spider is right! We must flee because a disgusting and horrible beast is after-" Drax didn't have time to finish his thought when the roar was heard again and this time louder and closer. And then a giant four legged dark blue gray creature with sharp teeth and a long tail with spikes on the end crashed through several of the large oak trees making its dramatic appearance.

 _Oh, dear…_

Now he knew why the roar sounded so familiar. This was one of those giant Frost Creatures that inhabited Jotunheim. He remembered when he, Thor, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif all made the mistake of going to Jotunheim and started fighting off some of the Frost Giants as well as the even larger Frost Creature. It had chased them to the edge of a cliff and if it hadn't been for Thor it very likely could have killed them. So right now he wasn't in the mood to try and kill this thing. And apparently no one else was either. Quill's eyes widened at the sight of the giant monster. "Son of a-let's go!"

Just as Peter, Mantis, and Drax made it to where Loki and Quill where the two men took off running at the same pace and then they were all sprinting like their lives depended on it. And it did. There was no forward thinking, they just ran straight ahead putting as much distance between themselves and the Frost Creature as possible. And they ran right into the winter section of the Soul World which in many ways was a mistake because the Creature would have no problem following them. "Where do we go now?" Mantis cried as it was apparent the Creature was gaining on them.

"Look! Over there!" Peter yelled pointing off to the right. "It's a cave!"

Loki saw the cave and muttered, "Brilliant." As they all sprinted towards the opening to the frozen cave, he knew that the Creature would be able to either follow them inside or be able to crash his way through the cave. But fortunately, he hadn't used too much magic today. He slowed down ever so slightly so that he would be the last person in the cave.

As the others got further into the cave and stopped to catch their breath, Quill muttered, "Great! Now we're cornered."

The whole thing of retreating from a dangerous threat and ending up in a cave reminded Loki of the Battle at Normheim. Although this time he was not going to do the humiliating "Get help", he was going to do something much more reasonable. The Frost Creature was only a few seconds from ramming its head through the entrance of the cave. "Oh, my God, we're going to die," Peter said in a rush.

Loki took a step forward towards the entrance and pushed his hands forwards creating a glistening and glimmering green shield that covered the space that was the entrance of the cave. "You have such little faith." When the Frost Creature hit against the shield, he wavered a bit and he found himself wishing for Strange's combined strength like how they had done in New York against Ebony Maw. The Creature shook its ginormous head confused and tried getting through the shield by crashing itself through again and again. Loki could feel the brute force of the Creature's attempt to break through his shield beat through him. His hands were starting to shake from the strain and he wasn't sure what he was going to do if the Creature actually broke through or if his energy was completely drained, but thank the stars the Creature glared down at all of them with his beady red eyes and then left them in defeat.

He waited to make sure that the Creature was completely gone before he dropped his arms down in mild exhaustion, the shield disappearing. He was out of breath, his side hurt from the extreme use of his magic, and frankly, he was out of patience for these people. He turned to the group, ignored Quill entirely and slowly and sternly asked, "Alright, will someone like to explain to me what happened?"

Both Drax and Mantis turned expectedly to Peter who looked worried. Loki crossed his arms waiting. Peter sighed and quickly started talking. "Well, I-I saw this big creature thing off to the side of where you left us and-and I didn't know what it was so, I went up to touch it-"

"Wait," Loki interrupted. "Why in the world would you think that was a good idea? If you did not know what it was, do not get close to it. Stars, it could have killed you! Not to mention the rest of us."

"I thought it was dead okay!" Peter tried to explain. Loki just shook his head. "My spider-sense didn't go off so I just thought, you know, what I said. And it's not like I actually walked over and touched it with my hand or anything."

"No?"

"Of course not! I'm not an idiot."

"Well, you see, that's what I originally thought, too. However, recent events have proven me wrong."

"What does that mean?" Peter asked sounding both offended and worried.

 _Does he truly care what I think about him?_

It didn't matter if he did. Peter asked a question and he was going to answer it. "It means that going over to any sort of alien creature that you are not familiar with and poking it with a stick is idiotic."

"I didn't poke it with a stick!"

"No?"

"No! I stood back about twenty feet and hit it with my webbing."

Loki sighed, rolled his eyes, and uncrossed his arms. "Stars above, I cannot believe I have to say this but, do not shoot your webs at alien creatures that you are not familiar with!" He stared down at Peter and saw the boy's fear that was still present from their chase from the Frost Creature and it was the first time he realized that that was exactly what Peter was. _A boy_. He might be called Spider- _Man_ and he might have superhuman strength and speed to him but…he was just a kid. A kid who should not at all be here. He threw his hands in the air and started angrily muttering to himself, "Stark really outdid himself this time. Just when I thought he couldn't get any more irresponsible, any more reckless, he lets an untrained thirteen year old join the Avengers."

"I'm fifteen and a half," Peter whispered.

Loki turned to him so fast his hair whipped across his face. " _No._ No, no, you see this is where you don't say anything because the adults are talking." Peter stepped backwards looking guilty and still worried. Damn those sad eyes of Peter's, it made staying firm so much more difficult. And to be honest, he wasn't really upset with Peter he was just upset about this whole situation that led to this smart and sweet boy being trapped in place he no business being in. But he had experience in hiding his emotions, so he just continued ranting. "And of course, _I_ have to make sure he doesn't go and get himself killed because if he did go and do something, everyone is going to blame me."

"Yeah," Quill said unimpressed. "It wouldn't be because Mr. Green Jeans is actually fond of the kid or anything, right?"

He pointed accusingly at Quill. "You don't get to say anything either. I am already annoyed as hell with you because of the nonsense you just pulled."

"So, who does get to speak? Just you, Drax, and myself?" Mantis asked truly wanting to hear the answer.

After the day he had he figured, why the hell not just answer it? "You're fine. I'm fine obviously. But I don't know if I can take anymore of Drax's not understanding sarcasm."

"So…what? No one talks?" Quill asked. "You just get to decide all the decisions and boss us around and we can't say anything about it?"

"I am _so_ pleased you agree to the new arrangement."

Drax flinched and then hollered, "I am not pleased with this arrangement!"

Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes. "And case in point of him not understanding sarcasm…Look, we're already here, we should just take shelter for the day."

Quill had problems with that and he started to voice them. "What? No! I'm not going-"

And Loki had problems with Quill voicing his problems so he put an end to that. "Then by all means, anyone who wants to go back out into what you perceive to be the freezing cold wind and snow and deal with the possibility of coming across that Creature again, please, be my guest." He spun on his heels and headed further into the cave. Not surprising, Peter and Mantis were close on his heels. Drax seemed to hesitate but then he started to follow them too.

Quill exclaimed, "Oh, come on, dude! Are you freaking kidding me! Drax?"

"I'm going to follow the elegant Key that is Low."

Loki sighed. Would this idiocy ever end? "Thank you for saying I'm elegant, but remember what I said about calling me that?"

"Apologies. Key-Low."

He ran both his hands through his hair, putting it back behind his ears, but also because it was the only thing he could think to do to distract himself from letting his impatience get the better of him. "Close enough," he mumbled. He heard Quill sigh and run on after them. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about Star-Man or whatever going out and getting himself eaten by that Frost Creature. As they all journeyed further into the cave with its frosted icicles, it became harder and harder to see. With a flick of his wrist he fixed that problem right away. With his hand above his head, Loki conjured up some non-dangerous green fire in the palm his hand to light the way. It was an easy thing to do and took little energy much like how conjuring did.

"Ohh, that's very pretty," Mantis said in awe.

Peter nodded in agreement. "Yeah. What she said. That's awesome."

"Why is everything awesome to you?" Loki deadpanned. Peter swallowed and seemed hesitant.

 _Stars, stop acting so mean. He probably thinks you hate him._

"I…I don't know," the boy said quietly. "But it is. Very cool…You know what else is cool?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

"Your change of character." Loki blinked in surprise. "I remember seeing YouTube videos of you in Germany being all like," he then started talking in a not at all good British accent, " _"_ Kneel before your master and I will spare you! _"_ "

He had to at least slightly smirk at Peter's attempt to mimic his accent. "I am pretty sure that I never said that."

"I'm adlibbing."

"Ah, I see."

"The point is, you actually changed and not like when people say they'll change but then they really don't and that's, well, cool." Peter paused for a second more before adding, "Because you know, you make a better hero then a villain."

Well, this was unexpected and not at all called for. He had basically scolded Peter in front of everyone and he had given off the false impression that he was angrier then what he really was with Peter and yet, that dear boy said all of what he had said. Stars, it had to be because he was young and not yet jaded by the ways of life that made him so trusting and bright-eyed. He should tell him how much being called "a hero" meant to him but all he could do was sputtered, "Um, y-yeah…I…thank you."

He glanced at Peter and saw him beam. "You're welcome, Mr. Loki."

He continued to lead them further into the glossy ice cave until they reached the end which looked like a small round off white and gray cavern with more than enough room for everyone to sit around in it. But by the time they were into the cave as far as they could go, everyone, except Loki, looked like they were freezing to death. Peter was wrapped even more in his hood, Quill held his ankle long red leather coat shut, Mantis was rubbing her exposed arms trying to regain the heat she lost, and Drax had his arms crossed and was shivering almost violently.

Well, this was a problem. He would be fine but he had no doubt that they wouldn't survive the cold if left on their own. The first thing he did was conjure up two one foot long logs in the center of the cavern and he knelt down next to the logs and put his hand on the logs. The green fire left his hand and started the logs on fire. When he took his hand away, the fire grew a bit stronger and it turned into a traditional orange and yellow fire that gave off heat. The next thing he did was conjure up several blankets which he didn't need to hand out, everyone quickly took them from him as if they thought they were going to disappear soon.

"Oh my God, it's freezing!" Peter exclaimed sitting down in the corner of the cavern curling up in the blanket and reaching out for the warmth of the fire. Drax sat next to him and Quill sat next to him. Loki settled down close to Peter and Mantis sat next to him.

"N-no k-kidding," Quill said through chattering teeth. He eyed Loki with an unreadable expression. "J-just l-look at h-him. B-bet he's just p-p-pretending to be unfazed by the w-weather just to s-spite us."

Loki raised his eyebrows at the shivering man covered in a dark blue blanket. "First of all, what a terrible way to spite someone and second of all, I'm _not_ fazed by the cold."

"At all?" Mantis said in muffled voice. The only part of her you could see were her eyes and the top of her head with her antenna because the rest of her was bundled up in two light gray blankets.

"No."

"I wish…I had that…tolerance for…the cold," Drax said shaking. He seemed the most effected by the cold because of his lack of a shirt but yet he had only taken one blanket. Oh well, the fire would warm up the small area. The flames bounced and reflected off of the smooth gray white ice walls of the cavern. Loki could feel the heat increasing instantly but what was significant to him in the sense of temperature change probably wasn't even noticeable to people who weren't Frost Giants.

"So," Peter said with a slight smile, "you-you could say that the-the cold never bothered you anyways?"

The tone and expression in which Peter said it, made Loki think that it was supposed to be a call to some sort of inside joke or something like that. But he had no clue what the teenager was talking about. He shrugged. "I…suppose?"

Peter frowned. "What? It's from _Frozen_. You never heard of _Frozen_?" Loki shook his head that no he had never heard of "Frozen". Peter looked to the Guardians. "Guys?"

They all shook their heads too, except Quill added, "I have h-heard of the _s-song_ "Frozen" by Madonna, b-but I doubt that's w-what you're t-talking about."

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "Really? No one has-has heard of _F-Frozen_ the movie? It's a pretty-pretty good movie. Not as good as-as other Disney movies like-like _Big Hero Six_ or _Inside Out_ , but…"

"How does…the story go?" Drax asked, pulling the blanket over his shoulders closer to himself.

"Well," Peter started, "there are these two-two sisters, princesses, who pushed each other away for years. Anna is-is the cheery one searching for true love, while Elsa is more reserved, serious, and-and skeptical at times. She also has-has these really awesome ice powers." He couldn't say why, but that last part caught Loki's attention.

"If they were princesses," Mantis started in her muffled voice, "did they live in a palace?"

"Oh yeah! Great-great big palace with hundreds of-of rooms. When the sisters were growing up, Anna would explore everything and-and kind of get into trouble and Elsa would stay off by herself. She was-was a total loner."

Drax nodded. "That's sad."

"What's sad about that?" Loki asked almost offended. "Maybe she just didn't want to deal with idiotic people. Maybe she tried to be more outgoing and it felt like nobody was paying attention." He knew why he was getting so passionate about some silly Midgardian story, because he could the see the parallels in his and Thor's life and these two make believe princesses. It was almost uncanny, the reserved loner princess even had ice powers. He didn't have ice powers but with the Casket he could literally freeze anything he wanted to.

Peter blinked at Loki and then slowly continued with the story. "Um…anyways, so then-then Elsa's powers were revealed and she-she ran away into the mountains because she was afraid the people of her kingdom would prosecute her as a monster. But Anna went after her s-sister to show her that everything would be-be okay."

"A-and was it o-okay?" Quill asked.

Peter shrugged. "Ah, not right away. Elsa kinda almost-almost froze her sister to death but because of the two sisters' love for each other it-it saved Anna."

"And then what happened?" Loki asked, fully invested into the story.

"The two sisters lived happily ever after with their friends in their kingdom."

Mantis is her bundle of blankets said, "That's such a sweet story."

Drax nodded in agreement. "Yes…it was…Tell it again."

"So, hang on," Loki said before Peter could potentially tell the story again. "The people of their kingdom was just okay with having a princess with ice powers? They didn't shun her or…or treat her differently?"

Peter thought about it for a while and then said, "No, not really. They-they were surprised and a little w-worried at first but then they accepted her. So it turned-turned out all her fears were for nothing."

Loki scoffed, "Not for nothing, you just said they were worried about her abilities and that she fled into the mountains."

"She shouldn't have done that. She was just assuming that people would treat her like a monster. She never gave anyone a chance, she just pushed everyone away."

The parallels continued.

Alright, fine, he did have a tendency to push people away but he was working on it. Telling Thor about what had happened on Thanos's ship and every other secret he had kept from him was the first step in stopping the vicious cycle, but he still seemed to do it with his friends and with other people. Take Peter for example, he liked the boy well enough, found him to be enjoyable to listen to, and he was worried that he was going to accidently get himself killed in this ever changing Soul World. But did he say that? Did he give off that impression? No. He thought it but that was it. His mother told him to not hold anything back for fear of regret later, but the thing that held him back was the fear of rejection and the fear of caring about people who could so easily be stolen away. He had thought that Rocket was not yet his friend, but truth be told, he probably did consider Rocket to be his friend already maybe even Hope but the last time he started to consider other people to be his friends… _snap._ And then they were gone.

And what could he say? His own self-disgust sometimes clouded his judgment. It was so easy to think of himself as a horrible monstrous Frost Giant, isn't that what everyone else thought and saw? He knew they didn't, practically nobody even knew his true point of origin. Thor knew and Nebula knew and they didn't care. Maybe he was going about everything wrong. It may take him awhile to truly believe that he deserved other people's affections but that didn't mean that they were not being genuine in giving him their affections. And deep, deep down he knew he should have some affection in his life.

 _Stars above. All of these emotional thoughts just because of some Midgardian movie?_

He truly was an inconsistent person. What could he say? It's what made him, _him_.

"Well," he started, "I promised to explain everything when we settled down for the day, so I think it's about time I do that." Peter nodded happily. "So, it all started about a day after you all disappeared. I was having a conversation with Nebula…" He told them all about his theory about the Soul Stone stealing their souls and storing them in this Soul World that they were now in and how he had to travel to the afterlife plane to check his theory. When he talked about Uncle Ben, Peter's eyes shone with a slight sadness but mostly with a sort of calm happiness. He was glad his uncle was somewhere so beautiful and free of problems. And Quill started in surprise when he mentioned the blue man named Yondu. Loki wasn't sure what the relationship was between those two were but he figured it was something close to family.

"So," Quill said after he was finished with his story. "You endangered your life to go to the afterlife plane so you could come here and save a bunch of annoying a-holes?"

Loki shrugged. "I suppose so."

Quill glanced down at the fire and didn't look up for a while. "Wow, now I feel bad for being all rude and acting like…like…well, like a bloody jerk." Loki smirked. "You care a lot about those others then? This Wanda and Bucky person and all the others you mentioned?"

"Yes." He didn't hold back this time. He may be an expert liar but right now he wasn't going to lie. "I've never really had any friends, just Thor. And then Nebula. But I was kind of estranged with both of them for a while so it was nice to meet other people who I could actually get along with."

Quill nodded. "You're a bit of a sarcastic dick, but it's not like you're _completely_ intolerable."

"Gee, thanks. The point is, after my whole unsuccessful attempt of taking over Midgard-Earth and…well, a whole lot of other stuff that I don't want to get into right now, I never thought that anyone in their right minds would give me a chance at friendship, let alone redemption."

The group was quiet for a while and Loki felt like maybe he had said too much but then his fears were dashed when Quill half smiled. "You know the great thing about heroes? None of them are in their right minds. That's what makes them heroes. I think you'll do fine with gaining back their trust."

It was probably the first time since he had met Quill that he didn't want to throw him off a cliff or turn him into a frog. Lately he was being given these comments that he held close to his heart because of the trust or compassion that was laced throughout them:

" _Yeah, I trust you. For the most part."_

" _We all have been so judgmental and untrusting that I don't think any of us thought that there was another side to you. And now that I've seen it, I want to get to know you better."_

" _You may know that Wakanda recently opened up its boarders to outsiders and if the Asgardians had nowhere else to go, I would being willing to take them all in when they arrive on Earth."_

" _I can only assume that the only reason you're here is because you're not the person that you used to be."_

" _Loki, you're okay."_

" _Or maybe I saw a guy trying to protect his friends about to get himself killed and I intervened."_

" _Loki, you are the only friend I have ever had."_

" _You know, you're not what I expected."_

" _No, Loki, I didn't think of you as my equal, I thought that you were better than me."_

" _Because you know, you make a better hero then a villain."_

And he would probably keep what Quill had said too. It was funny, you think he would have started to grow used to hearing these kind of comments, but no. They surprised him every single time.

"We should rest up," Drax said after a while of comfortable silence. "We still have to search for others in the morning."

"Yeah, what he said," Quill said.

Everyone leaned back against the smooth surface that were the walls of the cavern. It was hardly comfortable but then again this was not the least comfortable place he had ever slept in. The others soon drifted off to sleep all warm in their blankets. Loki's mind was awake and would probably keep him up all night if he didn't go to his peaceful memory of the golden field with the silver lake and emerald green trees. It had been awhile since he had last thought about it, or it felt like awhile anyways. The soft memory made him smile slightly and just as he was starting to fall asleep he was beginning to wonder if he should have a new calm and happy memory.

Maybe one filled with his friends.

…

The sound of a rock being kicked and knocked into the walls of the cave woke Loki up from a sound sleep. He glanced around. The fire was still going, as it should be, it was magical after all, and Peter, Quill, Mantis, and Drax were all fast asleep in their blankets. Then what had he heard? Only one way to find out. He quietly stood up and stepped closer to leave the small cavern.

"Dude, where you going?" Quill whispered. He turned around and put a finger to his lips. "What-?" Then there was another sound of another rock. Quill was awake and standing up in heartbeat. "What was that?"

"I don't know and shush, please," he whispered. "It might be nothing and if it isn't nothing I would like to get the drop on them." Quill nodded and together they left the warm safe cavern and headed into the dark tunnels of the cave. Loki had a dagger out and Quill un-holstered one of his blaster guns. The tunnel turned a sharp left and as they turned the corner they heard a much louder knock. Both men halted and rose their weapons towards the sound, unfortunately it was so dark they didn't know what they were raising their weapons at. But as it turned out they did have some fortune on their side. The source of the sound also rose up his weapons, two orange sparkler shields around his hands. Loki lowered his dagger right away at the sight of the tall man with brown hair and whitening temples dressed in his odd blue outfit and his obnoxious red cape cloak thing. " _Strange?_ "

Dr. Stephen Strange's shoulders relaxed the minute he recognized the trickster. "Loki." He lowered his hands but kept one of the shields up, as it was the only light source in the dank little cave. "It's about time you got here."

Loki blinked a few times confused. "I'm sorry, what?"

Strange suddenly looked like he wanted to take back those words. "I, ah, I mean, um…" He gave up and instead turned to call over his shoulder, "Guys, look who I found."

There were so many things Loki could have expected, but he had never expected to see the fair haired and shivering Wanda Maximoff and the metal armed Bucky Barnes to both come into view.

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 _Author's Note Again: Cliffhanger again. I know, I know. Sorry?_

 _Okay, so first I want to say that I'm sorry about the delay. I don't have a great excuse but I do have one. Actually a few. Summer is almost over and I wanted to take advantage of my dwindling free time. I love writing but I wanted to do some other things like swim and go to the movies. And I just recently got a Blu-Ray Player (I know, I've been living in the stone ages) and I just had to go and rent a bunch of Blu-Rays (mostly Marvel movies) to watch the special features. So, sorry._

 _The next thing I want to say is that the upcoming two chapters will also be set in the Soul World. In the next chapter I'm going to explore some other people's perspectives so, sorry in advance, there's not going to be that much Loki next chapter. So I will be doing some backtracking to see where the other members of the search party landed. Hopefully everyone likes what I have planned. You guys have so far, to which I thank you!_

 _Alright, so three of the Guardians and Peter Parker. Thoughts? Comments? I realize that a lot of people absolutely hated Peter Quill A.K.A. Star-Lord after Avengers: IW. I get it, he ruined the plan on Titan, but I don't know I don't hate the character. Which is why I had him feel guilty for what happened and like it was all his fault to make him sympathetic. And I realize that he probably isn't very likeable because he's constantly going against everything Loki is saying, but…you know, drama. And I figured that Loki and Quill would probably have no reason to get along._

 _I adore Peter Parker and Mantis. They are so sweet and precious. Darn it Marvel, why couldn't you just leave these dear kids alone! Sorry…got emotional. You know how it is. But anyways, the point is I love those two and it was a joy to write for them. It was also a joy to write for Drax. "The Key that is Low" is one of my favorite jokes._

 _But anyways, I think that is it. I plan to start working on the next chapter as soon as possible, but I do want to enjoy the few days of summer that are left before college starts up again. So…if I don't upload right away don't be surprised and if I do, well, then you got a surprise!_

 _All the reviews I got for Chapter Ten were amazing. I'm glad you loved my plot twist and thank you for helping me to believe that I am a good writer. ('Cause I got doubts sometimes, you know?) And thank you to every single one of you for your love and feedback. Much like Loki I can't believe all the nice comments I get. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Have a wonderful rest of your day!_


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Author's Note: Surprise! I got another chapter done faster than I expected. As I said before, there's not going to be a lot of Loki in this chapter, but for everyone's enjoyment I do have him reuniting with Wanda and Bucky here at the beginning. You should be a little happy about this, because originally this beginning section was going to be at the end. But if you're not happy, I understand._

 _Holy crap, we're only four reviews away from two hundred! I just do not believe it! It's so crazy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (Can you tell I'm happy?)_

 _Special shout out to Twilight and Silver Wolf Xxx for pointing out some errors I made. Don't worry you guys, I didn't think you were being rude. I appreciated it. Like a lot._

 _Alright, no more talk, let's get right to it!_

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 _Chapter Twelve: Reunion_

Loki was in shock. You would think he would have been mentally preparing himself for the moment if and when he started to find his newfound friends, but in all honesty he had not dared to get his hopes too high. And with everything that had happened in such a short period of time there just wasn't any time to think about any of it. But whether he was prepared for it or not, it did not change the fact that standing only a mere six feet away was Wanda and Bucky, who both looked equally surprised to see him and chilled to the bone from the resent cold they had just come in out of. Apparently it had been snowing because both of them along with Strange still had bits of white snow sticking in their hair and on their clothes. He shook his head slowly and started to mutter, "I don't believe it-is it really-?"

Wanda sprung forward, closing the space between them throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. This was unexpected but not at all that awkward. He couldn't deny that there was a connection between the two of them after the incident of her entering his mind. It was sort of unexplainable and yet it seemed to make perfect sense. He hesitantly put his hands on her shoulders. She truly was freezing. Later he would have to conjure her up a blanket. She whispered in that accent of hers, "I wasn't sure if I would ever see you again." The true amount of emotion conveyed in those few words meant the world to him. It just reaffirmed that just because he didn't feel like he deserved friendship, didn't mean that others weren't willing to give it to him. She suddenly took a single step backwards, her dark brown eyes shining in the light of Strange's orange shield and with both her hands she softly hit his arms. "I told you not to blame yourself!" He chuckled slightly. She was using those powers of hers again.

"Yes, well, old habits and everything."

Wanda shook her head, although if it was because she was in disbelief or just because she was cold, was not clear. "I told you not to."

"I realize this, but I have this really bad habit were I tend to do what I want."

She raised her eyebrows unconvinced. "You really wanted to spend hours alone and do nothing but be consumed by guilt?"

"…Okay, maybe that's not what I wanted to do, but…oh, you know what? I give up. You were right, I was wrong. Let's just leave it like that." The girl started to smile, at first it was a small smile but then it grew until her teeth were showing. "What?"

"It's just good to see you that's all."

He half chuckled and nodded. "It's good to see you too." They had been apart, what, about three days? But it felt like a lifetime had gone by since he had witnessed the smart, mischievous girl vanish and blow away like dust.

Her smile wavered slightly, like there was something on her mind that she wanted to speak. Something that wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about. And then she asked simply, "You went to the land of the deceased, then?"

He couldn't help but half smirk again. "Your impressive powers are still just as intrusive as before, aren't they?"

" _Loki._ " Her tone wasn't joking, it was slightly more serious than it had been before and there was a more depressed longing in her eyes.

 _Oh. She knows about…_

He cleared his throat. "Yes. I saw…well, you probably already know who I saw." She softly shook her head that she knew he had seen Pietro. "He, ah, he says not to worry about him or to feel sad when you think about him."

Wanda sighed, absentmindedly wiping her hands under her eyes. There were no tears yet, but it was probably just a habit she had gotten into when talking about her twin brother. "Easier said than done."

Loki nodded solemnly, remembering his mother's warm embrace. "Tell me about it."

A silence hung in the cave tunnel for about two seconds before Quill, who had been standing next to Loki the whole time looking lost, said, "I don't have any idea what you're both going on about but I feel like I should introduce myself instead of just standing here off to the sidelines." He glanced at Wanda and extended a leather gloved hand towards her. "Peter Quill, people call me Star-Lord."

As Wanda took his hand and nodded, Loki rolled his eyes and muttered, "And by "people" he means himself."

Bucky chuckled for the first time. "Still sassy and annoying?"

Loki shrugged. "More or less."

The kind metal-armed man stepped forward extending his metal arm towards him. Loki took it and they shook hands as if they were old friends meeting up again after so many years apart. Curious and yet not really. Bucky smiled, still shaking his hand for two more seconds. "It is good to see you, man, and in one piece." As he let go of Loki's hand he motioned to his neck where there used to be that dreadful bruise. "You looked pretty lousy the last time I saw you."

Quill crossed his arms, keeping his red flowing coat closed. Apparently the cold was staring to bother him again. "W-why, what happened?"

Bucky pointed to Loki and said, "Mr. Overly Dramatic, here, tried to stop Thanos all by himself with just a useless butter knife."

 _A butter knife? Are you serious?_

Loki shook his head, slightly annoyed at the metal-armed man for saying that. "Okay, first of all it was a _dagger_ -"

Bucky didn't care, he just continued on talking. "And then Thanos tried to strangle the life out of him. Should've seen him all black and blue."

Quill chuckled at the story as he turned to Loki. "And you said that me and my team are idiotic? At least we went after the dumb bastard with an actual plan."

Loki rolled his eyes. " _My team and I_. It's like I'm the only one who knows proper grammar around here."

"Well," Bucky said with a smile, "being like Shakespeare can do that to a guy."

Strange cleared his throat to get everyone's attentions. There was something different about the Doctor, something Loki couldn't put his finger on. It was like he was more tired or he had the weight of something on him. He knew what that looked like because he had felt that before, but with Strange it seemed ten times worse. It was like what he was thinking about could end up affecting the entire world. But Loki was probably just misreading Strange's appearance. Strange glanced around at all of the people in the cave tunnel and said, "I don't mean to interrupt your little reunion but we must head out and find the others."

"Yeah," Quill said, looking down at the ground. "We probably should wake up the others and continue our, at this point, aimless search." His optimism for finding Gamora that carried him throughout the day yesterday seemed to be dwindling. After all, besides Peter they hadn't come across a single soul.

"Others?" Wanda asked, but then it seemed to dawn on her. "Of course. The other Guardians and the Spider-Man." Those powers of hers, specifically her telepathy, were still quite amazing.

Quill just stared at Wanda with a sort of awe and bewilderment. Then he muttered to himself, "Okay, she's got some freaky mind Jedi powers and crap to her."

"The search will not be aimless," Strange said getting everyone's attentions again, back on the matter at hand. "I _know_ where the three groups we need to find are." Strange's voice had such authority to it and such confidence that it made you believe that he knew what he was talking about. If he said he knew where they needed to go to find people, then _he_ _knew_ where they needed to go to find people.

The only real question was, _how?_ And better yet, what did he mean by three groups?

"Three?" Loki questioned turning to the master sorcerer.

Strange smiled, with an explainable knowledge that he didn't seem keen on sharing. "Yes. Three."

…

 _The First Group:_

What had she done to deserve this? Like seriously? It was bad enough she had to be separated from Loki, she had to be separated from the other two members of their search party, and she couldn't just go searching for Gamora, but to be stuck with the most annoying human being in all existence…it was like she was being punished or something.

Nebula and this stupid childlike man, Scott Lang also known as the Ant-Man, had landed together in a section of the Soul World that appeared to be in the middle of spring. The area was a giant forest that stretched on for what seemed like forever in any given direction. The air was light and breezy with a scent of a mixture of flowers. And the flowers were everywhere. They grew up from the perfect hue of green grass, in their variety of colors of the rainbow and then in almost all of the trees that surrounded them were budding new pink or yellow petals. It was quite a sight to see, all of the plants and small animals, but stopping and gawking at the scenery was not their mission.

Lang seemed to forget this. All the time. It felt like over the course of the day that they had been there, Nebula was constantly having to stop and make sure the dummy was still behind her. They hadn't found a single soul, but Lang found several flowers that he was dead set on picking and bringing to his daughter. Maybe she was heartless, but in her mind this was not the time nor the place to be picking up gifts. And if dealing with Lang wasn't hard enough, her metal arm and hand were giving her issues, which was odd because they both had been fine before they had left. Essentially the problem was they both kept getting stuck because of power complications and she kept having to rewire the small circuit board that lay in the inside of her wrist.

She and Lang had slept under a large apple tree that was covered in apple blossoms and they had recently woken up and were getting ready to continue their search, when her arm froze up again. So as she sat on a log where tiny blue and violet flowers grew up through the fallen tree, she had to listen to Lang go on and on _again_ about how much he loved spring.

"I just love the spring weather! The colors, the warmth, everything. Do you like spring? I can't tell if you look like a spring person or not. Well, your clothes and coloring makes you look like a winter person." She paused from her work of connecting the small black wire in her wrist to the silver circuit board, only to glare up at the man in his ridiculous red and black suit that didn't even work. The second they had gotten to the Soul World, Lang had tried to show her how he could shrink down and grow in size, but the moment he had tried it didn't work. Perhaps technology from other worlds just didn't work in the Soul World. It certainly would explain her arm troubles and his suit not working. Lang started backwards when he saw her deep death stare. "Sorry," he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes and focused on her opened wrist. "Just focus on the mission."

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "I never thought of it like that. I guess you're right! This _is_ like a mission. Not that I haven't been on missions before. I have. Loads of times…or maybe three. Well, to be fair to myself it was probably four, but anyways this could be just like _Mission Impossible_!" How did Loki deal with these excitable people all the time? She just glared at him confused as to what the hell mission impossible was and why it even mattered. He saw her confused glare and he looked down right surprised. "What? You haven't heard of _Mission Impossible_? It's a really top notch action adventure series. Don't you have Netflix in space? …I guess that's a dumb question. You don't have any satellites around your planet. Or do you?"

Why did she even bother to wonder what the point was? Lang never had a point to all this idiotic stuff he kept stored away in his head. "Please stop," she said in an even tone.

"Okay, cool." She finished her reconnecting and closed her wrist. Lang pointed at her wrist. "You know, I said it the first time you opened it up and exposed all your wires but, that's pretty neat."

"And I said please stop. Are you going to stop now?" She stood up from the log and grabbed up the tan backpack with supplies before he could answer her. "We need to keep going in this direction," she said over her shoulder as she slung the backpack over her shoulders, walking in the direction of the rising pink and orange sun. Lang quickly ran up behind her and was following at her pace. For maybe the first minute, she waited for him to say something dumb. After the first five minutes, she was genuinely surprised when she hadn't heard a peep come from him. And after the first ten minutes, she was sure that the bite in her voice and the killer look in her eyes had scared him enough to finally shut him up.

Apparently she was wrong.

"Okay, if you haven't heard of _Mission Impossible_ have you at least heard of _Kim Possible_?"

"Oh, you must stop this!" she hollered, not caring if she made their location know to any enemies that may be out wondering through the Soul World. "I have had it with you and your overload of useless information!"

"Useless?" he said, sounding offended. He quickened his pace so that he was walking beside her instead of behind her. "I'll have you know, learning about _Kim Possible_ helped me to be the "cool dad" when my daughter Cassie came over to visit me."

Nebula huffed, "How is it helpful right now, in this situation, today?"

Lang was silent thinking it over before he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Um…well, I-I guess it isn't."

"I rest my case. You know, I really wish that if I had to be paired with someone that wasn't Loki it would have been Rhodey. Or hell, even that dreadful Barton person."

Lang gave her a funny look. "Hawkeye is not dreadful. A bit stubborn and unreasonable at times but not dreadful. He's really cool. Like this one time, I shrunk down and I got on one of his arrows and-"

"I don't care!" she snapped.

"…Wow…I think you have some real anger management issues you need to take care of. Maybe you can talk with Dr. Banner when we get back." She halted and started stalking closer to him with a threatening gleam in her eye. Lang instantly stopped talking and raised his hands up in scared surrender. "Please don't hit me. I was just trying to help."

"Help?" she said in an annoyed whisper. The thing that made Lang so unbearable was that he was constantly jabbering like a small kid about stuff that didn't matter in times where they had to focus. And worst of all his tone was serious. It wasn't like he was just talking all about this dumb stuff to purposely annoy her, he was just expressing his thoughts thinking that she would be interested in listening to them. Which she wasn't. And she had said that in so many words. So he must just be an idiot. Not unlike Gamora's merry group of heroes. "You remind me of the guy my sister is seeing for some reason. He acts like a big dummy too."

"Ah," Lang said lowering his hands slightly. "Now, I get why you don't like me. I remind you of your sister's boyfriend and you don't like him. It was nothing I did."

Nebula wanted to slap the man across the face. Maybe that would give him his sense back. "No! I do not like you either because of all of your constant talking. I mean, two hours into the search yesterday and I already had heard all about your ex-wife and her cop husband and Cassie and Luis and how you burgled some company that you used to work at and I'm sick of it! So you are either not listening to me when I say to stop because you want me to get mad or because you are that stupid to not understand. So which one is it?"

Lang hesitated, still looking frightened. He opened his mouth and stumbled over his words. "I'm not…I'm not trying to make you…you know, mad. So…I guess it's the s-second option?"

The fact that he had to think about it, that he was guessing to what the "correct" answer was, just proved her right that he wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. But his oblivion, for the first time, made her half smirk. He probably was a good father only because he acted like a child himself, so he would be able to relate to his daughter and know how to have fun with her. The image of Lang running with his daughter came to her mind and it made her feel both empty and amused. Empty because she never had a relationship with her birth parents, as they both died before she could meet them and with Thanos as her adopted father and those horrible Black Order members as her adopted siblings she never had a close, joyful family unit. And amused because there was something about seeing a grown man act like a child with his child that warmed her heart. Or the silicon pump in her chest that pumped her blood throughout her body.

She truly was a monster.

She shook her head and with it, all those dreadful thoughts that seemed to always be floating around in her head. "You know, it's a good thing you're with me and not Loki. He would probably get so irritated with you that he would turn you into a frog."

Lang started to nervously chuckle. "Yeah…you're not joking are you?"

"No. Now let's go." Nebula started walking back in the direction of the rising sun. "There's no time to rest."

"Apparently not," Lang muttered to himself, as he caught up with her but at the same time he seemed to keep his distance. "Hey, can I say something to you?"

"Within reason yes."

"You are…" he trailed off and chuckled humorlessly, "well, pretty damn scary, but like in a good way. Like how Hope can be. She was all stone silent and gave me icy glares too, but I think she was only doing that to mask the fact that she wanted me-"

" _Lang._ "

"Right, sorry. Point is, I think you're like Hope. Reserved, scary, glares that could kill any poor un-expecting guy, and a badass."

Nebula blinked a few times, unsure about what she was supposed to say. "I feel like I should say thank you but I'm not too sure."

"Well, of course you're supposed to say thank you. It was a compliment."

"If that is your idea of a compliment then how you managed to ever get married and now have a girlfriend is beyond me."

"I could tell you why girls run to me, but I feel like you wouldn't like that, so I won't." Nebula half smiled.

Okay, maybe he wasn't _completely_ stupid.

After about an hour of hiking through the endless forest of trees and blooming flowers, Lang insisted that they take a break. She wasn't sure if all humans were prone to weakness or if it was just this guy. Oh, well. Not that it really mattered, she had to fix her wiring again and-

A deep and low sound seemed to echo through the trees. It was ominous and it sounded, strangely enough like _hissing_. Thankfully she wasn't the only one who heard it. From where Lang sat across from her under a full tree with shimmering emerald green leaves, he started. "Um, did you just hear something? Something like a hissing sound?"

"Actually, yes." She reached for the two long slender swords attached to her belt. "Come on Bug-Man, let's check it out."

As she stood up, Land stayed right where he was and shook his head. "First, it's _Ant-Man_ and second, I don't want to check this out because this has a, "and then they were never heard from again," type vibe to it."

"Stop your worrying, everything's going to be-" Something large and green caught Nebula's eye. About thirty feet away from where Lang sat under his tree, there was a jade green, scaly serpent that was about as long as a football field and as thick around as a great big maple tree. As of the moment, it did not know that Nebula or Lang were so close by. It just went about its business, looking through the grass and the trees for something to eat. Nebula's grip on her swords tightened, but she instantly thought better of trying to go and comfort the monstrous snake. She had fought many creatures over the years but nothing like this and with her left arm and hand constantly freezing up on her, this was not the time to attempt to be heroic. They needed to leave before the serpent saw them. She said in a hushed voice, "Lang, walk towards me and whatever you do, please be quiet."

Lang's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Why-?"

"There is something about thirty feet behind you, but don't worry. Just get over here."

Lang's eyes widened and he slowly stood up from where he sat under the tree and hesitantly stepped closer to where Nebula stood. He muttered to himself in mild panic, "Okay. Okay, nothing to worry about. Except I'm worrying now because we heard hissing and I hate snakes."

"Stop speaking and get over here. _Now_."

"Alright. Alright, alright, alright-"

" _Stop it_."

Lang had been looking at the ground, watching where he was walking but he glanced up at Nebula for a split second and that split second made all of the difference. Because when he glanced up he didn't see that he was going to step on a fallen and thin branch that made an echoing cracking sound that the serpent heard immediately. The large snake's head popped up and looked in the direction of where Nebula and Lang stood and hissed again, its pink tongue sticking out of its hideous mouth filled with slimy sharp teeth. Upon hearing the hissing again, Lang cursed, "Ah, crap."

Nebula saw that the serpent was starting to make its way over in their direction. "Run," she commanded.

"But you wanted me to walk-"

"I know what I wanted, now I want you to run!"

Lang glanced over his shoulder and saw the fast approaching serpent and screamed, "Oh, my God! We're going to get eaten!" He took off running towards Nebula and when he reached where she stood, she started running at the same pace and then a little faster. They both could hear the serpent's inhuman hiss grow louder as it gained on them. Nebula was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. She could probably run faster still, but she didn't want to lose Lang. She had to think, she just had to think. Of course she couldn't with Lang screaming like a school girl. "Why did it have to be a giant ass snake?! Why couldn't we have found a giant fluffy bunny?!"

Despite running for her life, Nebula still managed to roll her eyes annoyed and shout back at him, "You know, I think I hate you!" Now, she needed to focus, she needed to think of some way to save them…they couldn't out run the serpent forever and they couldn't climb up a tree because the thing would-or would it? Because of the massive size of the serpent, if she and Lang were able to climb up a tall enough tree, it would not be able to stretch itself upwards enough because of its own weight would be too much for it to handle. And she doubted that because of that same reason it would not be able to curl itself around the tree and follow them. And if it was a tall enough and thick enough tree, the serpent would not be able to knock it down.

All of these thoughts flashed through her mind in a matter of seconds and then she was scanning the area in front of them for a tree that would meet the requirements needed for this plan of hers to work. And then she saw it. An enormous red wood surrounded by pink little bell shaped flowers that was at least three times taller than the serpent and four times as thick. It was off to the left a little and about ten feet away. She turned and started sprinting with all her might towards the tree. She called out, "Lang! This way!"

She heard him curse under his breath and then follow her. Not surprisingly, she reached the tree first. Good. She needed the five extra seconds of waiting for Lang to catch up, to catch her breath. When Lang was about a foot and a half away, the serpent was only about fifteen feet away and it was quickly closing the space that stood between itself and the two out of breath people. "Are we going to climb this thing?" Lang said in a rush. "Because I'm not that good of a climber-" Nebula grabbed Lang by the arm and by the back of his collar and hurled him upwards to the lowest level of branches, which was about ten feet in the air. Lang had not been expecting that at all. "Holy hell!" he shouted in surprise and thankfully he had latched onto a branch when he had the chance to. Nebula took two steps backwards, ran forward, and jumped with all her might. She reached out and just managed to grab onto a lower branch. She dangled from the branch, hanging on only by her fingers and gritted her teeth. She swung herself up and around so she could get her leg around the branch and pull herself up. Just as she did this, the serpent crashed head first into the tree. The entire tree trembled, but did little else. Now came the difficult part, climbing as fast as she could while making sure Lang didn't accidently drop to the ground and get himself killed.

She spotted him, hanging onto a large branch a few feet above her. "Climb upwards!" He didn't say anything, he just nodded with a scared look in his eye. They were fortunate that while they both were climbing upwards that none of the dark red tree limbs gave out under their weight or that Nebula's hand and arm didn't freeze up. For the next two minutes it was a hectic and panicked rush to climb up the large tree away from the serpent's reach. It vaguely reminded her of what it had been like to climb up the edge of the cliff on that planet with Gamora. Both then and now had been a rush to reach the top so that they would not die. She only stopped when the hissing sound had become faint and low. Nebula looked down and saw the giant snake trying to stand itself up and reach them, but like she had thought, it couldn't support its own weight and extend itself enough to reach them. They were safe up here. She grabbed Lang's arm and halted him.

"What? What is it?" He glanced downwards and saw that the serpent could not reach them. "Oh, thank God." He sat himself on a branch and hugged the base of the tree, probably because of fear of falling. Nebula stood on her own branch, holding onto the branches above her. She would sit the minute the snake was gone, but for now she was still on edge and ready to climb some more if needed. Lang was panting and shaking his head. "Boy, I thought we were going to die. And what a way to go. As snake chow!"

Nebula rolled her eyes, feeling a fast approaching headache. "You really are the worst-"

There was a rustling up above where they were in the tree.

"Oh, what now?" Lang whined.

"Who's up there?" Nebula asked in a hard voice, hoping to intimidate anyone who might be looking for trouble.

"You know, don't answer," Lang called. "Just stay up there and don't hurt us and we won't hurt you."

Nebula couldn't help but glare at the man, but then a voice from above stole her attention away from the annoying guy. It was a man's voice that was deep but not too deep or gruff and he asked, "Tic-Tac? Is that you?"

Lang's eyes shown in realization and recognition. He quickly looked upwards into the labyrinth of tree branches above them, searching for the man he thought he knew that voice belonged to. "Wait- _Falcon_?"

"Yeah!" the man exclaimed. "Up here, man!"

Both Nebula and Lang looked up to where the sound of the voice seemed to be coming from and saw maybe about seven feet above them, sitting on a branch, an African American man wearing a red and silver jet pack on his back and red goggles on his forehead. Nebula squinted her eyes at the man that Lang called "Falcon". From how he looked he seemed to appear like the man that Loki had described as the annoying one of the Avengers. Great. She was stuck in a tree with two annoying men. Lang laughed when he saw Falcon. "Well, I'll be a son of a gun! Hey! It's good to see you. How are you?"

Falcon, his real name was Sam if she remembered correctly, shrugged. "Well, as good as any guy who's been treed by a giant alien snake can be."

"Why are you stuck?" Lang questioned. "Can't you just fly?"

Sounding more and more like the guy Loki talked about. Sam nodded. "Under normal circumstances, yes. But for some reason my pack is malfunctioning."

Lang's eyes lit up like a happy child's. "Hey! Yeah, like my suit isn't working either and sometimes Nebula's arm doesn't work. What is up with this place?"

"Nebula?" Sam asked, confused.

"Yeah. Her." Lang pointed across to where Nebula still stood up in the branches. Sam, apparently, had not realized that there was another person here and he did a double take when he saw Nebula. This was not uncommon. People tended to stare at her a lot, after all she wasn't exactly normal. Loki never stared. He just saw her. It didn't sound like there was a difference but there was. Gamora never stared either.

"Hi," Sam said with a nod.

"Hello," she said back. "You wouldn't happen to be Sam Wilson?"

"Why, yes I am," he said with mild curiosity as to how she knew him.

She sighed. Yup. This was the guy Loki talked about. "I can't catch a break. Not only do I have to be paired with an annoying guy, now I'm stuck in a tree with another one because of that damn snake." Speaking of the giant serpent it had given up on trying to crane itself into reaching them but it hadn't left the tree. It had curled itself into a bundle at the foot of the tree, waiting for any foolish individual to try and sneak past it.

Sam seemed to take the defense. "Why would you just assume that I am an annoying one-" Then it seemed to dawn on him. "Do you know the God?"

"Which God?" Lang asked. "'Cause there are two that I've met."

"He was talking to me," Nebula snapped and then she glanced up at Sam, "And if you are questioning if I know Loki, then yes. I do know him."

"Huh," Sam muttered to himself. He glanced upwards and said, "Did you hear that, your majesty?"

Another man's voice, although this one had an accent, said, "Yes, I did." An African man, wearing an all-black suit with silver claws and a sleek silver necklace climbed down from even higher up in the tree to Sam's level.

"Whoa," Lang said in awe. "I remember that guy. He was at the airport in Germany. Something Panther. The Panther! Is that right?"

"The _Black_ Panther," the newcomer corrected.

Lang shrugged. "Hey, I was close."

Sam chuckled and then said, "Tic-Tac, Loki's friend, meet King T'Challa of Wakanda."

"Oh," Lang said, again his eyes widening to the size of saucers. "You're _the_ king? Oh, that's so cool!"

T'Challa tiredly nodded. "Well, that is one word for it." He reached Sam's level and like Nebula, he stayed standing in case they needed to start climbing again.

Nebula eyed the young king. "Loki spoke very highly of you. He said you were a wise and kind king." T'Challa smiled warmly, while Sam just frowned.

"And let me guess," Sam muttered. "He said I was an annoying one."

Nebula nodded and bluntly said, "Yes."

"Okay then…when did you even talk to him?"

Before she could think to answer him, T'Challa spoke. "She must have spoken to him recently after Thanos's victory. So either he is somewhere here like us or…or there is some way to get from wherever here is back to Wakanda."

Well, so far she liked him better than anyone else. He hadn't made one dumb wisecrack and he was smart enough to put together the pieces. She was about to answer, to tell him what had all happened when Lang interrupted her. "Oh, yeah. It was crazy, man. Me and Hope and Hawkeye all arrived where the other Avengers were in Wakanda and Hawkeye got mad that Loki was there."

Sam scoffed, "I bet."

"But anyways," Lang continued, waving his arms around as he talked. The man was going to lose his balance and fall to his death, Nebula just knew it. "Then literally everyone and their mother showed up and we all discussed things like why Hawkeye shouldn't kill Loki, Loki's not at all clear plan of saving the people who disappeared," Sam and T'Challa both gave each other a sideways glance that Lang completely missed, "how we were supposed to contact this really awesome wizard named Wong, how we were-"

"Hold on," T'Challa said raising his hand to silence the excitable man. "Loki had a plan to save us?"

Nebula sighed. "It might not appear like it because of this _one_ ," she glared into Lang's soul, "but we are part of the search party chosen by the man known as Captain America to help rescue anyone we find here in the Soul World."

Sam nodded, seemingly understanding. "Alright, and what in the heck is a Soul World?"

Nebula sighed again and rubbed her aching head. These idiots really didn't know anything did they? "How Loki puts up with you people I'll never know."

"I think what Nebula meant was, the Soul World is this place all around us," Lang said trying to ease the moment. "Apparently, it was created by one of those Infinity Gem thingies."

T'Challa nodded with an air of real understanding. "We are in a world created by one of the stones Thanos used." He let out a deep breath of relief. "So, we are not dead, we are just trapped here. And Loki must have realized this and you all found a way to get to this world. Is that correct?"

Oh, yeah, Nebula definitely was liking this guy better than the others. "Now I see why Loki spoke so highly of you. Yes. Everything you said was correct."

Sam scoffed, "Guess the God is trying to play the hero."

"I don't care for your tone," she sassed. "If it wasn't for Loki, we wouldn't be here right now to save your sorry excuse for a self." This was going to get her into trouble, but what could she say? It bothered her, no, it _pissed_ her off when people were knocking Loki down. If only they knew the real reason he attacked their precious Earth they wouldn't be so quick to judge him. She bit her tongue and held her anger back though, because she didn't want to accidently tell anyone else about Loki's time on her father's ship, especially since he seemed so sensitive about it still. And he had every right to be.

Sam's mouth dropped opened. "My sorry excuse-did you just-oh, now I see why you and the God are friends. You're both sassy, disrespectful things." Wow, she must have struck a nerve. "And another thing, ace, how are you supposed to save us with the Creature from the Black Lagoon down there?"

"Hey, I understood that reference too!" Lang said happily.

Never in her life had she wanted to push a person who was practically a stranger down from a tree more than she did right now. But thank God for T'Challa, because the man started acting like the diplomat he was. "Alright, that is enough. For now we cannot do much but sit here and wait for the snake creature to leave us. At that time, and only at that time, do we attempt to leave. Is that clear?" Sam and Lang both muttered a yes and Nebula slowly nodded her head. Who knew how long they would be trapped here because of the serpent but all she knew was that if they couldn't leave soon she would probably end up committing first degree murder.

And that probably wasn't a good thing.

She just needed to calm down. _Calm_. She thought about Loki's calm and peaceful memories. That beautiful otherworldly field by the lake surrounded by trees, with hundreds of white butterflies…she would have never had such a memory if it wasn't for a certain God of Mischief. It had gotten her through tougher moments then this. She wondered how he was. Was he okay? Was he all alone? She shook her head. Oh, he was fine. He was practically un-killable, she had said it herself. But she couldn't shake the slight stomach clenching worry that she had. And what about Gamora? She was a fierce opponent and she could take care of herself, but she couldn't help but worry about her sister too. Boy, she was becoming a bit too sentimental for her own liking but she figured that that was an inevitability when having such a close friend like Loki and with finally having a sort of relationship with her sister.

She sighed one last time and focused on dealing with the annoying Sam and Lang and on speaking with the kindly King of Wakanda, because anything was better than the worrying.

…

 _The Second Group:_

"Alright, I'll admit it," Clint told Rhodey who was following close behind him as they both walked up a series of rolling green hills. The sun was bright and hot and it shown down on the two sweating men. "Trust my rage is a pretty damn good line, but I also got to say that none of you guys know what it was like to have Loki inside my head, twisting everything around and pulling it apart like it was cotton candy."

From the moment Clint had woken up here in this humid summer like area of the Soul World, he and Rhodey had constantly been talking about what he and the remaining Avengers had been talking about the day before: why he should put aside logic and trust the damn guy who had killed over a hundred people in less than a week. And to be honest, he was kind of sick of it. They had one goal, one mission here, rescue as many as people as possible and find his kids. Now, true, in the day that they had been here wandering around in the intense heat they hadn't come across anyone, but it was difficult to focus on their singular purpose if Rhodey was continuously blabbering about Loki.

But Rhodey kept on blabbering. "From my understanding, when Wanda was working with Ultron she did a mind trick on most of you guys too. And I know for a fact that you two are close."

"It's different," Clint retorted back and he saw Rhodey's unconvinced gaze. "Look, she was a hurting kid who was under a bad influence. But when she and Pietro found out what Ultron was really up to, they hightailed it out of there and helped us."

"Loki's helping us too, you know."

Clint groaned, "Yeah, I know. Probably only because he's mad that someone else is doing a better job at terrorizing the world than him."

" _Clint_."

"Okay, can we stop debating about homicidal whack-job for just ten minutes? _Please?_ This is starting to give me another headache."

Rhodey chuckled under his breath. "Fair enough. I'm not doing a good job of convincing you to change your opinion anyways. You have got to be the most stubborn person I have ever met…correction, it's a tie. You and Tony finally have something in common."

"Oh, please. We had something in common before."

"Yeah and what was that?"

"We both can be sarcastic little jerks who are unworthy of picking up Thor's totally rigged hammer."

Rhodey let out a laugh. "I'm pretty sure that basically everyone was unworthy to pick up Thor's hammer."

Clint shrugged. "Yeah, all except Vision and I swear to you when Cap tried to pick it up that one time, it moved a little bit."

"Really?" Rhodey asked in surprise.

Clint nodded his head. "I'm telling you, man. I saw it move slightly and I saw Thor's expression get all worried."

"Well, and to think I thought I had seen everything."

"One thing I've learned over the years as both an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and an Avenger, is to always expect the unexpected and the really weird and bizarre."

"Sound advice." Rhodey let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. They had reached the top of the hill that didn't have that big of an incline but because of the ninety degree weather it made small actions like climbing a small hill ten times more difficult. "Jeez…I think we should take another water break."

"How much do we have left anyways?" Clint asked as he sat down in the thick grass. The series of rolling hills that Clint and Rhodey seemingly were forced to climb were in a clearing out directly in the sunlight. It probably wasn't smart to rest here in the direct heat but they both were too tired to go on for a while.

Rhodey sat down next to Clint and undid his backpack. "About two and a half bottles." He pulled out one and handed it to Clint, who snatched it up. "We got to find a stream or something pretty soon."

"No kidding." Clint spent about six seconds drinking from the bottle and then he handed it off to Rhodey. "It would have been nice to know ahead of time that the Soul World was going to be so freaking hot." Because if Wong or Loki knew that small detail, they both neglected to mention it. Wouldn't it be just like the trickster god to not tell them something as important as that? Was he really such a bad guy because he still didn't like Loki and didn't trust him as far as he could throw him? He didn't think so. He never thought that he would ever be put in a situation where his former teammates would be against him on a matter like this. Yes, he understood that sometimes people could change; the first example he could think of was Natasha; but Loki…It just did not seem plausible in his mind.

How could the guy who manipulated people, murdered people, lead an attack against the population of New York, ever be expected to change for the good? Was he that jaded and that pessimistic? Or was he taking things a bit too personal and letting that cloud the facts? Everyone seemed okay with Loki. Should _he_ be okay with Loki? He didn't know. He truly did not know what was the right and safe thing to do.

"Oh, well," Rhodey muttered after he finished his drink and slipped the bottle back in his pack. "There's nothing we can do now but press forward."

"Yeah. Right…Come on." He stood back up and offered his hand to help Rhodey get back on his feet. Once the two men were standing again they headed down the hill and went in the direction where a patch of smaller green trees stood. They were only "smaller" because these trees were only about twelve feet tall, whereas the other surrounding trees could be anywhere from twenty to forty feet tall. "So, where do you think everyone is?"

Rhodey shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe they're all up in the tree branches."

Clint half chuckled, "Well, if that's the case then that sucks because we've already been by at least a hundred thousand trees. Maybe they're-" As he was glancing around at the scenery around them he saw something on one of the smaller trees. It was a carving only about three feet up in the ridged trunk of the tree. It should have been unimportant, unnoticeable, but whoever carved it had made it large and clear so that you could see it from a ways back. And the only reason Clint paused when he saw it and then started running towards it, was because the carving was of two large and capital letters: _CB_.

Now, CB could stand for a lot of things; one such example was his own name, Clint Barton. But he had a deep and strong feeling that this CB stood for one Cooper Barton, his oldest son.

"Clint? Wait! What are you-?" Rhodey called behind him after he took off running towards the tree. Clint didn't answer. He just stopped in front of the tree and analyzed the carving. It was good but hardly perfect. He had been teaching Cooper how to help him with the house renovation and other odd jobs around the house since the boy was four. And Cooper always loved it when they had worked on wood projects, the boy was practically a natural. And Clint remembered what he had told all of his kids countless times. He told them if ever they were lost, they must find a way to leave a bread crumb trail of sorts so he could find them. Was it possible that this carving in the tree was his son's? "Clint, what is it?" Rhodey asked, reaching where the archer stood feeling the hope a parent who has lost his children feels when they are so close.

"The carving," he pointed at the tree. "I think Cooper, my oldest, made it. We gotta see if there are any more-aha!" He saw a similar carving on a different tree a couple feet to the left. "Come on! We have to follow the carvings!" The next ten minutes was a rush of running to a tree with the telltale CB carved into the side, frantically searching for the next one, and then continuing the process.

Oh, please, _please_ let this lead to his son. It had been so dreadful to see his children, the three most important people in his life vanish right before his eyes. And Laura…it had been harder on her. His dear wife turned into a hysterical teary eyed mess while he desperately tried to hold it together for her. It had been like daggers had been driven into his chest and it took all of his willpower to not break down. But there was hope of finding his children and now there was even more hope as they reached the end of the trees with the carvings, which seemed to lead to a stone cave that was at the bottom of a large rock and stone cliff. If you looked up you could see the top of the grassy cliff and you would be thankful that you did not have to climb up it. Clint started for the cave immediately, but Rhodey grabbed onto his arm.

"Wait! Clint, hang on a second. We don't know if this is a trap."

"It's not a trap. I _know_ it is not a trap. I know if I go in there I will find Cooper."

Rhodey sighed, perhaps realizing that he could not talk a father out of acting on his parental instincts. "Alright, but we should be prepared if it is a trap of some sort."

"Fine." Clint pulled out one of his arrows and lined it up on his bow, but he kept the arrow pointing downwards for fear of hitting his son. "I'll lead."

"I figured you'd say that." Together the two men entered the cool and dark cave. The only sound they heard were their own footsteps and the dripping of water off of the ragged downward pointed rocks. It was at least twenty degrees cooler in here and it was quickly becoming pitch black. But as quickly as they had walked into a wall of darkness, several faint lights could be seen flickering and flying through the air. They were like little yellow orange fireflies, lighting their path. "Well, this is interesting," Rhodey muttered, looking up at the increasing number of lights that filled the air.

When they turned a corner they saw two things. The first thing was a creature, that was shaped like a human but was not a human at all, more like a creature made out of wood and tree branches, sitting on the ground with it's tree limb hand in the air as hundreds more of those little glowing lights were released from it's hand. The second was a young boy about nine with a mess of flat brown hair wearing jeans and an old hand-me-down t-shirt, with a cute little two year old in his lap. Clint could have cried he was so happy. Cooper _and_ his youngest, Nathaniel. "Oh, my God," he whispered, as the tears began to sting his eyes.

His little boy looked up and saw him. "Dad?"

Clint dropped his bow and arrow and ran across to the two boys and scooped them both up into a big hug. Before he knew it, he was kissing both of his boys' foreheads and mumbling, "Oh, my…you're both safe. Thank God, you're both safe."

"We're okay, dad," Cooper reassured.

Clint had to breathe through it to prevent himself from completely crying because he still needed to hold himself together. His boys were here and safe but what about his daughter Lila? "Your sister, do you know where she is?" Cooper shook his head sadly. "It's okay, buddy. I'm just so glad to see you and little Nathaniel."

Rhodey watched with a smile as part of the Barton family was reunited and then he noticed the tree thing that he recognized from the battle at Wakanda. He stepped closer to it and said, "You're that tree that came with Thor and Rocket Raccoon, right?" The tree nodded, his big black brown eyes shown in the light of the little spores that he had released.

"Oh, yeah!" Cooper exclaimed. "He's my new friend. He let me use his sharpened tree branches to carve into those other trees. And he made sure we were okay when we first got here."

Clint turned to the unusual tree creature with an air of appreciation. "Thank you for helping my boys."

The tree nodded understanding and said in a causal voice, "I am Groot."

…

 _The Third Group:_

The last thing she remembered was being hurled over a cliff, falling, screaming and then there was a painful moment of making contact with the hard unforgiving rocks below and then…everything became black.

By all definition she should be dead. Maybe she was dead. But for some strange reason she did not think that the afterlife would be an autumn forest to the East and a summer forest with grassy rolling hills to the West. She had expected that when she died she would be reunited with her mother and the rest of her long dead family. She did not expect to wake up alone. Her first instinct was to move forward so she did. She stayed along the border of the two connecting seasons and she walked for almost two days, finding no sign of any people. She rested by a stream and then she was back to walking. This place seemed never ending, but if this was the afterlife, she supposed that it was never ending. But this just wasn't right.

And Gamora always trusted her gut instinct. So, if this didn't feel right, then this was not right.

And even if this was the afterlife and this is where she was to stay for all entirety, she needed to walk forward and wrap her head around the events that led to her being here. Her father was after those damn Infinity Stones again, but he was doing it himself. The second that man she and the Guardians had rescued, Thor, told them about how Thanos had attacked his and his brother's ship filled with hundreds of innocent people just to get the Tesseract, she knew with a deep stabbing feeling of anxiety that this was not going to end well. Whether it was for her or for the galaxy remained to be seen. Rocket and Groot left to help Thor find a way to kill Thanos, however unlikely that was, and she with the remaining Guardians went to Knowhere to hunt down the Collector who had the Reality Stone "safe" in his collection.

And that's when everything went downhill. Thanos took her before Peter could do what he had promised to do, kill her so she would not give up the location of the Soul Stone, and she was brought back to that horrible ship that plagued her nightmares. A shadowy place where her evil "siblings" had always lurked, ready to kill and torture whenever Thanos gave the word. God, she hated that place. And then her father led her to where he was keeping Nebula. She had been suspended in the air with all of her mechanical parts pulled apart keeping her dear sister in a constant amount of pain. She could not watch her sister be put through that, she could not bear to hear Nebula's screams. So she did the only thing she could, she took her father to where the Soul Stone was hidden. And then she died.

Or she was supposed to have. Thanos threw her off a cliff to get his precious stone. But here she was. Alive or…whatever.

When she was beginning to think that she was all alone in the autumn summer land, she heard someone step on a couple of the fallen leaves behind her with a loud crunch. She grabbed her sword from her belt, spun around, and took a fighter's stance against whoever was trying to sneak up on her. The tip of her silver sword was pointed at a harmless looking brunette woman with brown eyes, dressed in very simple and dull clothes. The woman yelped and jumped backwards when Gamora spun with her drawl sword. Gamora doubted that the woman who didn't even have any sort of weapon was a threat but that didn't stop her from asking in strong tone, "Why were you following me?"

The woman shook her head, her straight hair getting in her face. "I'm sorry. I'm not a bad guy, I swear. I just-I haven't really seen anyone around and then I saw you and…wow, you have green skin." Gamora squinted her eyes at the woman confused. "You're not from Earth are you?"

Gamora shook her head. "No. Are…Are you?" The brunette nodded her head. Gamora instantly relaxed and lowered her sword. "I guess meeting a green skinned woman must be very unusual for you. I've heard that Earth is not like the other worlds out there. It's very…meh." Gamora half chuckled, because that's exactly what Peter had said when she asked him what his home planet was like. The brunette however gave her a funny look and Gamora realized that saying such a thing was probably offensive. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Those were my boyfriend's words, not mine. He comes from Earth and he has traveled through the cosmos seeing other worlds so I took his word when he said-"

"Don't apologize," the woman said with a slight shrug. "Compared to Asgardian technology alone, Earth does have a lot of catching up to do." Now it was Gamora's turn to gives the woman a funny look. From her understanding, people from Earth did not really know about the other planets out there. Again this was according to Peter and he did have a tendency to get things wrong. The brunette took a step forwards and explained, "My ex was from Asgard and I've seen a few crazy things that science can't at all explain."

"Huh…anything like this place?" Gamora motioned to the summer and autumn sides of the vast forest.

"No. But this is hardly the most unexplainable place I've ever been to. I'm more curious about how I got here then about this place itself."

That perked her interest. "How did you get here?"

"I was in London, in this little coffee shop talking with my friends Erik and Darcy when we heard a commotion outside. People were-they were disintegrating into dust. _Dust!_ And then I turned back when I heard Erik say my name and I saw him two seconds before he vanished as well. Then this very peaceful feeling spread throughout my body and there was nothing. I woke up in the grass under a shade tree. I just got to know what happened."

Gamora suddenly felt a chill crawl up her spin. God, it didn't go well for her or the galaxy. "I know what happened. My father succeeded."

The woman met her eye and started to ask, "What-?"

But then a little girl's voice cried out, "Hello? Can somebody help me?"

Gamora didn't even think, she just started sprinting in the direction of the little girl's cries for help. If Thanos had succeeded in wiping out half of the galaxy, which it sounded like he did, then this place must be where half of the entire universe ended up. And if she was dead, which is was more than likely true, then everyone here was also dead. Including the brunette woman and this girl she was running for. But even with that thought, she couldn't slow down her pace. She had to find the little girl. And she did. She found a little six year old with her long brown hair in pigtails and her small leg was pinned under a large and heavy fallen tree branch. Gamora slowly walked over and knelt down next to the girl. She smiled softly and said, "Hey, sweetie, how are you?"

The girl whimpered, "My leg hurts."

"I know. It's going to be okay."

The brunette finally caught up with Gamora, looking very tired and said breathlessly to the girl, "Hey…hello. What's…what's your name?"

The poor little girl was frightened and shaking. "I'm not…supposed to talk to strangers."

"Wise advice," the brunette said with a nod. Gamora had gotten up and she got her hands around the branch. With a loud grunt and a little bit of straining she was able to throw the branch off of the girl's leg. "Jeez, you're strong!"

"Wow!" the little girl exclaimed, suddenly excited despite her probably broken leg. "Are you a superhero like my dad?"

Gamora and the brunette both sat next to the girl to see if besides her leg, she was hurt. "I don't know, maybe, who's your dad?"

"He's an Avenger."

Gamora raised her eyebrows impressed. "Really?"

The brunette turned to her surprised. "You've heard of them?"

She nodded, eyeing the girl's black and blue leg. It was definitely broken. "Just recently. A strong muscular and hansom man talked about them to me and my friends. He was like…an angel and also strangely enough a pirate. He was rugged but in an elegant way."

"Ah," the brunette said understanding the description.

The little girl flinched when Gamora tried to very lightly touch her leg, but she continued on talking. "My dad's an archer. It's really cool!"

The brunette smiled. "I think I know who your dad is."

"He's Clint Barton also known as Hawkeye. I'm Lila Barton."

Gamora smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. It was so refreshing from the past couple of days she had been having. "Hi, Lila. I'm Gamora and this is…" She motioned to the brunette not knowing her name.

The brunette gasped, "Oh, sorry. Right, I'm Dr. Jane Foster."

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 _Author's Note Again: This was a much shorter chapter, but hey, I think the next two are going to be really long so…yeah._

 _Anyways, what do you think about the groups that are out there waiting to be rescued by Loki, Strange, and Company? What did you think about the reunions? Does anyone have an idea as to why Strange is acting so, well, strange? Okay, enough questions._

 _School is starting up for me next week, so the frequent updates might not be so frequent anymore. But who knows…maybe I won't be overloaded with homework. But I do want to say that I will be continuing this story. Do not fear. Just because the updates might be few and far between in the future does not mean that I am quitting my writing. Just try to have a little patience and I'll try to keep the chapters coming. Thank you._

 _And double thank you as always for all the positive feedback! It always makes me so happy! And as I said before, thank you for getting us to almost two hundred reviews! I still do not believe it at all. You can be honest with me, is this all a dream? Hope you enjoyed the chapter and hope you have a good day!_

 _To my friend Samantha, I put a Kim Possible reference in the story, are you happy?_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_Author's Note: My God this took forever…_

 _But I'm alive! As I said before, the updates are not going to be as quick as before but I am continuously working on this when I have the time and energy so never fear!_

 _But seriously, I am_ _ **so**_ _happy this chapter is done. It took me like forever. I would not say I was blocked but I just couldn't seem to think. You see, I know exactly where I want this story to go and I write an outline for each chapter that I am currently working on but sometimes it is difficult to get from point A to point B. And school didn't help with that._

 _Anyways, I won't keep you any longer because this is when everyone finally comes together. Yay! Enjoy the chapter and so sorry again for the wait._

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 _Chapter Thirteen: A Little Too Convenient_

Strange did not explain who these three groups were or how he knew where they were. Most people would understand that the questioning gazes pointed at him would mean, explain. But Strange just turned to Quill and told him, "Go and wake up the others because we haven't the time to waste. We need to leave, _now_."

Quill didn't move a muscle. He turned his gaze to Loki, who nodded. "Do as the good Doctor says. He _probably_ knows what he's talking about." Quill gave him a quick nod and then quickly went back through the tunnel to reach the others, who were more than likely still asleep in the cavern.

"Probably?" Strange asked, a hint of resentment in his voice.

Loki half shrugged. "I don't know. Do you know what you are talking about?"

" _Yes_."

"Do you care to share how you know where these three groups are?"

"No, not practically at the moment."

"Hence the use of the word "probably"."

Strange took one step forward, his face was void of emotion except for his eyes. In Strange's crystal clear gray eyes there was an underlining bit of irritation, urgency, and even anxiety. "We need to find the members of your search party and the people they are with as soon as possible."

Loki should probably just let it go, but the man was acting so, for lack of a better word, strange. He crossed his arms and asked, "Why?"

Strange inhaled deeply and then slowly let it out. "Because."

"That's not a sufficient enough answer."

"Well, it's the answer I'm giving you."

"Oh, God help us there's two of them," Bucky muttered under his breath.

Loki turned to the metal-armed man. "I assure you that besides our magic, Strange and I are not remotely alike." Bucky shook his head, not believing him.

Strange sighed and stepped closer to Loki still. "Look, let's just say that with Thanos still out there it is best that we do not just sit here dilly-dallying around waiting for the most powerful being in the entire multiverse to figure out what we are doing."

 _Oh…_

"Well…that makes sense." Loki glanced away from the Doctor's never ceasing gaze. He should have let it go, but what could he say? The way Strange was acting, it just didn't seem right. Oh well. It didn't matter now. They did need to find the others out there and he supposed it didn't really matter how Strange knew where they were. "Next time can you just start with that? That way we can save time."

Strange half smiled. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. But if luck is on our side, and it should be, there will not be a next time like this again."

There he was again, acting so damn odd. "I remember you being annoying, Doctor, I do not remember you being this cryptic."

"Believe me, I am not trying to be. When everything is said and done, this will all make sense. Now, I am going to make sure that the entrance to the cave is clear of any threats. When everyone is ready to leave meet me there." And with that the tall doctor sorcerer turned on his heels and walked in the direction leading to the cave's entrance, his rich and full cloak flowing behind him.

Loki twisted his hand and conjured up some more non-dangerous green fire to light up the dark cave; with Strange gone so was the only source of light. He glanced back at Bucky and Wanda and saw that Bucky was staring at his hand with the flickering fire in awe and that Wanda had her arms crossed and a, really?, look plastered all over her face. "What?" he asked her. "What is it? What did I do now?"

She half chuckled and half shivered, "Y-you didn't need to act so childish a-about Strange knowing where we need to go."

"Oh, come on, Wanda. You can't say that him just showing up and proclaiming that he knows things that he should not be able to know isn't just a little too convenient."

Bucky nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he found us wandering around in this winter wasteland and he just led us to this cave like he knew exactly where he was going. Like he's been here before."

"Maybe he just knows things," Wanda said. "Sometimes, because of my powers, I just know things. I'm not going to be suspicious of Strange or his actions because he wants to help and what he knows is going to help us save more people."

Loki nodded his head, understanding what Wanda was saying, but there was some part of him that just couldn't shake an uneasy feeling about Strange hiding information from them. Was this how most people felt about him? If that was the case then he understood why it seemed like people hardly trusted him in the past. "You have a valid point and it's probably nothing but…I don't know. Something about the way he's acting. It's just… _wrong_. It's like he knows something horrible is going to happen and he's just trying his best to pretend that everything is peachy."

Both Wanda and Bucky seemed to look a bit more concerned when he put it that way, but neither of them had a chance to speak any of their concerns because Peter followed by Quill and the other two Guardians, who were still wrapped up in their blankets, walked through the icy smooth tunnel to where they all stood. "Hey!" Peter exclaimed upon seeing Wanda and Bucky. "It's you two! Uh, Scarlet Witch and-and…um, sorry can't remember your name. And Mr. Loki said it last night and everything."

"This is Bucky Barnes and Wanda Maximoff," Loki said so that could be cleared up.

"Oh! The people you spoke about!" Mantis mumbled into the warm blanket. Loki nodded.

Peter nodded as well. "Yeah. That's right, Bucky Barnes. I remembered you even before Mr. Loki talked about you though. Because you had the awesome metal arm! You remember me? I was on Mr. Stark's side in that whole fight in Germany against Captain America."

Bucky nodded in remembrance. "Yeah, I remember. How could I forget? It was such a shocking moment to be in the middle of a fight and realize that you are fighting a young kid."

The smile left Peter's features in an instant and his downright annoyed expression made Loki chuckle out loud. "Seriously? Everyone, for the last time, I am a grown adult man!"

Quill half smirked and shook his head. "You're just never going to let that go are you? Well, anyways, we should see where this wizard man leads us."

"And this wizard," Drax started as they all slowly started walking towards the entrance of the cave. "He's the one who helped us with the fight on Titan and has the Blanket of Death, correct?"

"The Blanket of Death?" Wanda questioned.

"His cloak," Mantis clarified. "It moves on it's own accord."

"That's right!" Peter exclaimed, his chipper attitude back as soon as it left. "That was so cool. Like, Dr. Strange just sent his cloak and it flew by itself and attacked people! I mean, how does a cloak even do that by itself?"

"Am I the only one confused as to why this one," Bucky pointed to Drax, "called Strange's cloak "the Blanket of Death"? He could have just said his cloak."

"I think I have the answer," Loki muttered. "The Guardians of the Galaxy are the overly dramatic ones…except Rocket. He's fine."

Quill scoffed, "Dude, if you knew Rocket for more than just two days you'd think he was part of the quote overly dramatic ones unquote too. Mark my words."

"Okay, they're marked. However, I really, _really_ doubt it."

"Who's Rocket again?" Bucky asked.

"He's a snarky talking raccoon," Drax said bluntly.

"I'm sorry, a talking what now?" Peter asked looking incredibly surprised.

Bucky on the other hand nodded his head remembering the raccoon. "Sure. I remember. He asked me how much to buy my gun and then how much to buy my arm."

"What in the world would a raccoon do with a metal arm?" Peter asked, still looking surprised and now confused.

Bucky shrugged. "Hell if I know. Oh, and by the way I feel really lost because besides this Star-Lord fellow here, I don't know anyone else's names."

"Oh!" Peter said. "Well, I'm Peter Parker. The woman with the antenna is Mantis." Mantis waved at Bucky, who slightly waved back. "And this big guy is Drax."

"Drax the Destroyer," Drax added with a sense of being proud of his title.

"Okay," Bucky mumbled. "I got a feeling I'm still gonna be lost but okay."

The cave tunnels began to get less and less dark, as they got closer to the cave entrance. When they came into view of the opening of the frosted cave and saw the tall silhouette of Dr. Strange and the pools of new daylight shinning outside, Loki twisted his hand and made the green flickering fire disappear. The Doctor stood with his back to the group with his arms crossed. "Everyone ready to go?" he asked over his shoulder before the small group had even made it all the way to where he stood.

"Yup," Quill said. "Ready as ever."

"Wonderful," Strange said with little enthusiasm. He uncrossed his arms and spun his arm in a large circle to open up an orange sparkler portal that appeared to lead to the autumn section of the Soul World. He turned to the group and motioned his hand towards the portal. "This way. We haven't the time to waste."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Quill muttered, practically running towards the portal. "I am sick of the cold." Not surprisingly, Drax, Mantis, Peter, and Wanda were quick to follow. Loki hesitated for a second because whatever was up with Strange was still bothering him. It was like this nagging little thought that just would not go away.

"We have a limited amount of time," Strange said again, although this time when he said it he almost sounded pleading.

It took Loki aback and snapped him out of dwelling on this nagging thought. "Yes, I know. I'm going. Just wanted to soak in the cold before we go back to the warmer climates," he lied. Whether Strange bought that or not, he still nodded and motioned to the portal. Loki stepped through it, followed by Bucky, and then Strange himself. The portal closed up behind him. Drax and Mantis had folded up their blankets and everyone looked thrilled to be out of the winter section.

"Follow me," Strange commanded as he started walking at a fast pace to the West. Everyone followed him, quickly trying to keep up with him.

"Strange is acting a bit strange. I agree with you on that," Bucky told Loki.

"Yeah. And apparently nobody of importance is in the winter section or else we wouldn't have left it."

Bucky nodded and then said, "I noticed you didn't seem to be bothered that much by the cold."

"You either. I'm a Frost Giant meant to live in the extreme cold, what's your excuse?"

Bucky shrugged. "My base of operations was in Russia for sixty some years and when I wasn't out being an assassin for Hydra, I was put on ice. So, the cold doesn't really bother me."

The tiredness that came through Bucky's voice made Loki feel for the man. He already did. After all, he was the only one who knew exactly what it felt like to be brainwashed and have your head filled with thoughts that weren't your own. Well…actually Agent Barton did. But back to the actual point, hearing Bucky's story before and now this little additional part made Loki want to do two things. One, he wished to talk with Bucky about his time with this Hydra thing and about his own time aboard Thanos's ship. It would be a depressing melancholy subject to talk about but he just wanted to talk with another person who really could relate. And two, he just wanted to do something to make the long brown haired man not look so empty and alone. He couldn't talk about the former right now, but he could do the latter. He half smirked and said, "Whatever you do, don't say the cold never bothered you anyways, because then Peter will get all excited and tell you the whole story of _Frozen_."

Bucky squinted his eyes at him. "The story of _Frozen_? What the heck is that?"

Wanda turned around. "It's a really cute Disney movie."

"Oh dear. She knows it too," Loki muttered.

Wanda smiled slightly and slowed her pace so that she could walk with the two men. So, this is how it went, Strange led the way through the autumn forest with its colorful leaves, with Peter close behind him, the three Guardians were behind them, and Loki walked with Bucky to his left and Wanda to his right. After a few minutes of walking in a comfortable silence Wanda turned to Loki and said, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Loki nodded. "Of course."

"When things are not so…dramatic, could you maybe, teach me how to do magic?"

That threw him for a loop. He hadn't expected that question at all. "What?"

Wanda fidgeted with her rings as she tried to explain. "The thought crossed my mind on the Quinjet but I never said anything and then after spending the last day with Strange, I thought it might be a good idea. It might be something that I am really interested in."

"What does Strange have to do with it?"

Bucky knew the answer to that. He half chuckled, "The second after we found the guy and told him who we were he kept on talking about his darn magic that he can do. And he kept asking Wanda all of these questions, are your powers magical? Have you ever considered learning magic? Did you know that with your powers, magic would probably be a cake walk for you? It was like he kept harping on her so that she would want to learn."

"Well, whatever the reason," Wanda said pulling Loki's attention back to her, "I have decided that it is something I would like to learn."

Strange was right. With her abilities, magic would no doubt be easier for her to learn then the average person. He had a feeling she would do wonders with it. He just hadn't expected her to ask him to teach her. It was honor he did not take lightly. "Okay. If you want to learn then, um, I'll teach you when everything calms down."

"Why not now?" Mantis called over her shoulder. Apparently she and the others had been listening to their conversation.

"Beg pardon?"

"Why not teach her now?" Mantis repeated. "We are not doing anything but walking through the woods. You could give her the essential lessons."

"Well…"

"Yeah!" Peter said, turning around and walking backwards for a brief moment. "And that would be so cool because we can listen too. We all could learn!"

Loki shook his head. "Alright, first off learning magic is like learning any subject in school. It takes time and concentration, which we have neither right now. And second, anyone can learn magic, but only a small few actually are…how do I put this…"

"Are any good at it?" Bucky asked.

"Exactly."

Peter shrugged and went back to walking the correct way. "I don't know about myself or anybody else, but I'm sure that the Scarlet Witch would do wonderful at it."

Wanda beamed. "You're a sweet boy, you know that?"

Loki sighed. "Look, Wanda, I will teach you. I promise. I just don't know if right now is the best time to do so." The fair haired girl nodded her head in a sort of understanding way but there was a bit of disappointment in her expression.

 _Congratulations, you just disappointed the girl you consider a sister and a friend._

Again, it wasn't that he didn't want to teach Wanda. To do so would be wonderful. To pass on his mother's teachings to someone else was something he could not pass up on. However, like he had said to learn magic took an awful amount of concentration. One must focus on it and it alone. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe he could do what Mantis said, just teach her the first few essentials. The introductory part if you will to the mystic arts. Before he could say anything on the matter, Strange called out to Wanda and said, "Wanda, I can give you a few pointers that the Ancient One taught me at Kamar-Taj since Loki doesn't seem to want to."

Loki glared at the back of Strange's head. "Now, wait one second. Did you not listen to a word I said? I will teach her!"

"Yeah, but later. I can start right now."

"Oh, no you don't. I will not have you teaching her your simplistic harnessing magic. If she's going to learn, it should be the dying art of traditional magic. So just back off and go about your business of leading us, Doctor."

Quill scoffed and turned to Drax. "Well, that was a turn of events."

The muscular man nodded. "And an intriguing one at that."

Wanda started to say, "Loki, if you don't want to teach me until later then you don't have to feel like-"

But Loki held out his hand to silence her. "Nope. I'm doing it now because of a certain annoying wizard that will remain nameless."

"I bet it's Strange," Drax whispered to Quill as if it was some great big secret. Quill slapped his hand to his forehead.

Loki took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, the first thing you must do when learning traditional magic is you must clear away any and all conceived notions that you already have of it. Whatever you think it will be like, it more than likely will not be anything like that. So, erase all previous thoughts and open your mind for new possibilities, because when it comes to magic anything can happen."

At that moment Drax stepped into some sort of a rope trap that got caught around his leg and lifted him up five feet into the air. "Ahhh!" Drax cried when he suddenly was lifted upwards. Loki, Wanda, and Bucky all froze, Quill and Mantis both jumped, and Strange and Peter spun around to see what was going on.

"Oh, man!" Peter shouted, when he turned around and saw the man dangling by his left leg.

Quill sighed at seeing his friend up in the air. "Oh, boy." He turned to Loki and muttered, "Sound advice. But unfortunately just as anything can happen involving the magic crap, anything can happen in the real world too."

"How about instead of talking all philosophic, we get this guy down?" Bucky said walking closer to the group that was now encircling Drax.

Drax nodded as he struggled against the rope keeping him suspended. "I agree with this muscular bearded man, whose name I forgot."

"Here," Mantis said, reaching out to try help Drax who wouldn't stop struggling.

Quill grabbed her by the shoulder though and pulled her away. "No, Mantis, get out of the way. I'd hate for Drax to land on you. He'd smash you as flat as a pancake."

And it was at that moment that Loki realized that they were close to the boarder of another season. About ten feet in front of them was a section filled with rich green trees and rolling hills of the same hue as the trees. Possibly it was the summer section of the Soul World. And before Loki could think what this meant, before anyone could make a move to free Drax from the trap, there was the telltale sound of a sharp crack of a branch being stepped on behind them. As if on cue everyone spun around preparing themselves for confrontation. Loki conjured up two daggers, Wanda brought up her red energy that danced around her hands, Strange had two shields around his hands, Quill had both blaster guns pointed in the direction of the sound, Bucky and Mantis both took a fighters' stance and Peter held out his hands ready to web up anyone who came through the bushes that everyone now stood staring at.

And someone did come through the bushes. Or rather, jumped through them in a sort of urgency with her silver sword drawl. It was a green skinned woman with thick black hair that had crimson red tips, dressed in black outfit with an amber light weight coat. From the few glances he had seen on Thanos's ship, the description that Nebula told him, and the shocked, wide eyed look from Quill, Loki knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was Gamora.

This was further confirmed when she quickly eyed all of them and saw Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Her eyes focused on Quill and Quill alone. She gasped softly and let her sword drop to the ground. "Is it really you?"

Quill lowered his blaster guns, happy tears shinning in his brown eyes. He stepped forward slightly and whispered, "Gamora."

"It _is_ you." They didn't just stand there staring into each other's eyes after that. Quite the opposite. At the same time, Quill and Gamora ran to each other and threw their arms around each other in a loving and relieved embrace. Upon seeing that this was not an enemy everyone else relaxed and watched the couple's reunion. Gamora pulled away from Quill to look at his face, tears were in her eyes. "It really is you," she said softly, trying not to cry.

Quill smiled and cupped her face gently with his hands. Both of her hands softly latched onto his wrists. "Yeah. Yeah, it's me. It's all of us. And it's you. It's really you." He pulled her back to him. "God, it was so terrible when Thanos said you were gone…I just lost it."

Gamora nodded and said in a reassuring voice, "But you're here now and we're together again."

It was a beautiful and calm moment for the couple who had both been through so much and nobody wanted to ruin it by interrupting. But Peter didn't mind softly saying to the group still standing by the suspended Drax, "Aw, it's so romantic."

Drax nodded sincerely. "Yes. It is. I almost feel guilty for wanting to interrupt so that someone will get me down." Quill and Gamora both heard him and glanced at the man. "It would appear I have gotten their attention."

Quill sighed annoyed. "Dude, you couldn't have given us ten more seconds before being all like, somebody help me down?" Drax sort of shrugged looking all innocent for kind of ruining the couple's moment. " _Fine_. Let's get him down."

"Here, allow me," Strange said as he created another orange shield but this one he threw upward like a Frisbee and it cut the rope holding Drax up. It disappeared once it cut the rope.

And once the rope was cut, Drax fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Ahh! …I'm okay." Then he slowly got back to his feet with the help of Bucky and Mantis.

Gamora, still holding onto Quill, shook her head. "I'm sorry you got caught up in that Drax. I made the trap to ensure our safety."

""Our _"_?" Bucky asked.

Gamora nodded and told them, "Yes. I found a woman and a little girl. They're the only living souls I have come across, well, I say living…" Her features suddenly grew serious and her happiness was gone. "Thanos succeeded with his plan. Half of all life has been wiped from existence."

Loki figured that this would be the best time to start explaining to her this whole Soul World thing. It was amazing how many times he felt like he had to repeat himself. "Yes, but you are not dead. Nobody here is dead. You all are merely trapped here in the Soul World."

When Gamora turned to face him, she appeared confused, probably as to what he was talking about, but when she saw him her eyes widened slightly. "Who are you?" she asked, looking at him from head to toe.

 _She recognizes you._

Before he could say anything, Quill started to explain, "Oh, yeah. When you got taken, Drax, Mantis, and I came across some of those Avengers people and-"

Gamora walked away from Quill's embrace, staring at Loki, obviously trying to remember where she knew him from. "I know you, don't I?" At the single sentence, Quill turned with wide eyes to Loki. His expression screamed, you know my girl, how do you know my girl? Gamora ignored her boyfriend's confusion. "I've seen you…somewhere. Haven't I?"

Loki slightly nodded, trying not to get sucked back into the dark memories of Thanos's ship. "A lifetime ago."

The green woman continued to stare at him but she didn't have a chance to say anything because another voice, a female and oddly enough, familiar voice, called out, "Gamora? Is everything alright? You didn't come back and we were starting to get…" And who should come out of the bushes next? None other than _the_ Jane Foster. Never in a hundred years would he have guessed to see the brunette scientist that his brother had given his heart to. But here she was, traipsing through the thick leafy bushes carrying a little girl with pigtails. She saw Gamora and the others but not surprisingly when she spotted Loki, her gaze stayed locked onto him. Her mouth fell open slightly in shock but then she closed her mouth and glared at him. "You."

"Oh, stars above," he mumbled, taking a step backwards. He had a feeling that he knew what was about to happen.

" _You_ ," she repeated louder than before. In one graceful motion she had set the child down on the ground, spun back to face him, and started marching for him.

 _Well, this is not going to go over well._

He held out his hands, trying to calm her down. It wasn't working. "Now look, Miss Foster, before you do anything rash-" She did something rash. She had walked right up to him and slapped him across the face.

 _Damn, she still hits hard._

The others standing nearby all either gasped or shouted out in surprise. Peter was loudest of them all. "Whoa! Did she seriously just do that?"

Quill couldn't stop himself from smiling. "Uh, that would be a yes. Look, lady I got no clue who you are but I like you already."

Drax turned to Loki and said, "It would appear you have a complex history with this woman."

Loki half chuckled, rubbing his left cheek. "You could say that."

Miss Foster ignored everyone and instead started shouting at him. "You've got some nerve being alive! You know how broken up Thor was about your death? Hmm? Do you? He was heartbroken and now you're just alive?" It was funny how it seemed that her real source of anger for him all stemmed from him hurting Thor. That was funny because he was pretty sure that most broken up couples didn't stay close. Miss Foster shook her head, lost in her own thoughts of what him being alive meant. Then she started to advance again. "Get over here. I'm going to hit you again."

Loki quickly jumped backwards and literally grabbed the closest person to pull them in front of him to use as a shield. That person just so happened to be Peter. "Hey!" the boy shouted, confused.

"You wouldn't hit an innocent child would you?" Loki asked her.

Wanda scoffed, amused by these turn of events. "Are you seriously using the kid as a shield?"

"I'm a man," Peter whispered. Miss Foster looked from Peter to Loki and crossed her arms unimpressed. Well, at least she wasn't going to be trying to slap him again.

"Could someone please just explain the relationship?" Bucky said after a moment of nothing but Miss Foster glaring at Loki and him still cautiously holding Peter in place.

Loki told him, "This is Jane Foster, my brother's ex."

"Oh. In-law troubles, huh?" Quill mused. "I can kinda relate to that, because you've all seen Thanos. Talk about the worst father in-law ever."

Gamora rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. " _Peter._ "

"What did I do?" the young teen asked with raised hands.

Quill shook his head. "Not you. My name's Peter too."

Peter was silent for maybe two seconds before his eyes widened to the size of saucers. " _Really?_ Hey, man, that's so cool! We could be the Two Petes! Or the Two Ps. Or maybe-"

Miss Foster interrupted the excited boy. "If there was ever trouble with the "in-laws" then it was because of," she pointed directly at Loki, "that weasel nosed jerk."

Quill could barely contain his laughter. "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better."

"Well, that was a little harsh," Mantis said in disapproval of what the brunette had said.

"Yeah," Drax said in agreement. "The Key that is Low does not have a weasel nose, he is quite elegant."

Loki rolled his eyes. What was with this guy and not being able to say his name? He really had to resist the urge again to flick his hand and turn the man into a frog. So instead he turned to Gamora and asked, "How do you put up with these Guardian people without stabbing them?"

Gamora didn't even blink or seem surprised by his question. She just shrugged and said, "I have great restraint."

Loki scoffed, "Sounds exhausting."

Wanda clapped her hands together, gaining everyone's attentions. "Alright, everyone shush for one minute and I mean it." She walked up to the defensive scientist. "Without going too much into detail, Dr. Foster, Loki did not fake his death but merely survived the incident in the dark world. Yes, he's a bit of a handful and he can be very childish-"

Loki's mouth dropped open. "I'm childish? _Me?_ She's the one who hit me!"

Wanda just went right on talking. "The point is, we're all in this together now… I've heard a great deal about you, so it's nice to finally be able to meet you."

Miss Foster nodded and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, thanks. Same about you. You're pretty cool actually." Wanda smiled at the complement.

Well, it appeared that he didn't need to use Peter as a shield anymore, so he let go of the teenager. And then said teenager asked no one in particular, "Uh, does anyone else feel left out of the conversation now?"

"I do!" the little girl sitting off by the bushes cried.

While most everyone in the group had noticed the girl that Miss Foster had set down, this was the first time that everyone truly saw the little girl. "Why hello!" Mantis said with a wide smile and a higher pitched tone of voice than usual. "Aren't you just the most adorable thing ever?"

Wanda smiled at the girl and stepped over towards her. "Hello, Lila. It's good to see you again."

"You too!" the girl said excitedly. "I'm glad you're here, too."

Wanda chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah." She knelt down next to the girl and told the group, "She is Clint's daughter."

Loki nodded. "Ah, I see." And he could. The tiny child had Barton's eyes.

"I don't," Quill muttered to himself.

"Clint? As in Clint Barton? As in Hawkeye the awesome Avenger archer?" Peter questioned.

"The very same," Loki told him. "Although I would hardly say he was "awesome"."

" _Loki_ ," Wanda said in an even tone, never looking away from the child.

"What? I can't have my own opinion?"

Wanda ignored him and instead focused all of her attention on the girl. "My goodness, what have you done to your leg, Lila?" Everyone saw what Wanda saw. The girl's leg was a horrible shade of black and blue.

Gamora came over and sat down on the other side of the little girl. "The sweet thing was trapped under a tree limb. But ever since then she hasn't cried a bit." She smiled brightly at the little girl and tasseled her hair in a sort of motherly way. "Such a brave little thing."

"Yeah," Miss Foster said in agreement. "If it was me with the banged up leg, I probably would be bawling right now."

For the first time in a long time Strange spoke up. "That sounds like it is broken. I better have a look at it."

As he started walking forward, Gamora held out her hand to stop him. "And you are?" Her protective nature for the child she barely knew certainly was endearing.

"Dr. Stephen Strange, former neurosurgeon now master of the mystic arts."

Peter glanced at the Doctor in shock. "Wait, hang on. You're a _real_ doctor?"

"Yes," Strange said as if it were obvious.

"Oh," Peter whispered.

Quill threw his hands in the air. "Dude, what did you think he was? His name is _Doctor_ Strange."

"Well, I didn't know," Peter mumbled crossing his arms over his chest. "I just thought that that was his made up name. Like-like "Hawkeye" or "Scarlet Witch"." Then he pointed to himself when he added, "Or "Spider-Man"."

"You're the Spider-Man?" Miss Foster asked skeptically. Her skepticism was understandable. Here was this fifteen year old boy in sweat pants and a hoodie who got really excited really fast, and who just gave away his secret identity to a complete stranger. He didn't exactly seem like he was the traditional superhero type.

Peter stared at Miss Foster for a few seconds before sighing, "Man, I just can't keep my secret identity a secret lately. First my Aunt May, then Mr. Loki, and now Mr. Thor's ex. _Man_." Loki chuckled and patted the boy's shoulder sympathetically.

"Alright, now that the introductions are done, may I examine the girl's leg?" Strange asked Gamora, who nodded her head that it was fine. Strange knelt down and gently felt her poor bruised leg. "Yup. It's definitely broken."

"Here," Loki said taking a step forward. "I can fix it as good as new."

"He really can too," Wanda told Lila.

"Hang on," Strange said standing up and holding his hand out to stop Loki. "You may want to hold onto your strength."

"Why?" When Strange didn't say a word and instead just stared at him with that odd expression of his, Loki sighed. And to think that he had thought that they had gotten past all of Strange's cryptic behavior. Apparently not. "Are you going to tell me what's going on or…?"

Strange really looked like he didn't want to budge on the matter but when it became clear that Loki was not leaving until he knew what was happening he gave up trying to hide a secret from the master liar. "We have to go to the spring section of the Soul World. In a large red wood tree Scott Lang, Sam Wilson, King T'Challa, and Nebula are all trapped. They are trapped up there because a giant scaly snake is waiting for them at the bottom." Loki blinked in surprise.

So did everyone else in the group. Gamora shook her head. "How do you know all of that?"

"Isn't that just the question of the day?" Loki asked sarcastically.

Strange sighed, looking a bit guilty but he pushed it away. "Look, I wish I could explain but right now I cannot. So you are all just going to have to put a little faith in me and stop asking all of these questions."

"Fine," Loki said begrudgingly. "Now you said there was a giant snake?"

Strange didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

Loki felt a slight headache pounding in his temples. "Excellent. Well, since you seem to know everything, Doctor, what's your plan of attack?"

Again, Strange didn't hesitate with his answer. "Let the Guardians go and rescue the four stuck in the tree, while you and I distract the snake. Everyone else can either help the Guardians or stand back and watch our six."

"Sounds like my job," Bucky muttered when heard the part about watching their six.

Loki agreed but he had one condition. "Alright. But it's you, myself, and Wanda who distract the snake."

Wanda started at that. "Me?"

Loki nodded. "Yeah. _You._ I trust Bucky to watch our six and the others to get Nebula and the other three out of the tree but the only other person I would trust with the job of distracting a giant snake would be you."

Wanda shook her head as she glanced between Loki and Strange. "I would get in the way. I'm not as powerful as you two."

Strange turned to face her. "Don't be too sure of that. You have your own strengths and abilities that neither I nor Loki possess. Hence why you would do so well with learning the mystic arts."

With that little boost of confidence, Wanda got to her feet and nodded in agreement. "Alright. If this is our plan then shall we?"

"Yeah, let's do this!" Peter exclaimed, more than ready to go do something mildly dangerous.

Strange shook his head. "You should stay here with Miss Foster and Lila."

"What? But I-"

"To make sure they stay safe."

Peter sighed and nodded, not holding back his disappointment. "Okay. I'll be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and watch out for these guys."

"Good," Strange said. "Now we can leave."

"One moment, you forgot something," Loki said. With a twist of his hand he made a semi-automatic machine gun appear in Bucky's hands with a flash of green. The metal-armed man chuckled amazed. "Now he can watch our six."

"I'll watch your six too," Quill said taking out both of his blaster guns again. He tried twirling them around his hands but ended up dropping one and then in a feeble attempt to catch it dropped the other one. Gamora rubbed her forehead in a tired manner. Quill stood back up with both his guns trying very hard but failing to not look embarrassed. "I swear to God I know what I'm doing."

Strange sighed after a while and said, "Okay, fine. Is there anything else?"

"Yes," Drax said. "Why can't we just tell the people in the tree to get down and we all take on the huge snake?"

"Because we are not going to kill the creature, we are just going to distract it," Strange said. "It is trapped here just like all of us and the four in the tree may need help."

Gamora shook her head in agreement. "Yes, and Drax, the last time we took on a giant creature you let yourself get swallowed up by it because you thought that the skin would be easier to pierce on the inside."

Loki shared a confused glance with Bucky and Wanda. You know, he should not be surprised to learn that the dumb muscular man would do something like that but what could he say? The fact that someone would do something that stupid surprised him. "How did you even survive that?" Peter asked from where he stood near Lila.

Drax shrugged. "Because I single-handedly vanquished the beast before it could start to digest me."

Quill scoffed, "Dude, you did not single-handedly vanquish the beast."

"Yes I did."

"No. You didn't."

" _Yes_. I did."

Loki rolled his eyes. And Wanda said that _he_ was being childish? Thankfully, he wasn't the only one getting more and more annoyed by the second. Strange semi-snapped, "Everyone just stick to my original plan. Got it?" That made Quill and Drax stop their petty argument.

Miss Foster eyed Strange and then muttered under her breath, "He's a bit moody, isn't he?"

Mantis nodded and added, "Maybe a smidgen."

Gamora clapped her hands together, similar to the way Wanda had a few minutes earlier. "Come on guys, let's just focus on the mission. Because I want to go and save my sister."

Of course. Poor Nebula stuck in a tree with Scott _and_ Sam. If she had any hair, she would probably be pulling it out in frustration right about now. At least T'Challa was there to keep the peace. The young king did seem to have a great interest in keeping the peace. "Alright," Loki started, "to recap: Wanda, Strange, and I distract the snake, Bucky and for lack of a good reason, Quill watch our six, Mantis, Drax, and Gamora save the four in the tree, and Peter stays here and watches after Lila and Miss Foster. Did I forget anything?"

"I do not believe so," Strange said. "Now that everything is settled, let's go." He opened up a portal leading to a forest that was filled with dainty flowers and blossoming cherry trees.

While little Lila got really excited at that, Miss Foster's jaw dropped open. "Whoa, how did you-what kind of tech is that?"

Strange half smiled. "No tech, just some grade A magic."

"Well…huh, that's new."

"The world just keeps on gettin' crazier and crazier," Bucky muttered with a smile.

"Isn't that the truth?" Loki said in agreement. With that, everyone except Peter, Miss Foster, and Lila walked through the portal into the light and breezy spring section. They all walked in silence for about two minutes through the forest until they came across a large red wood tree surrounded by little pink bell shaped flowers and laying curled up in the shade of the huge tree was the giant jade, scaly snake. Strange, who was leading the group, held up his hand to stop everyone from continuing forward and stepped behind a tree. The group followed his example and split up into two groups hiding behind two trees that were close together.

Upon seeing just how monstrous this snake was, Bucky muttered unenthused, "Well, this should be fun."

And Drax not understanding sarcasm, nodded. "It appears like it would be." He glanced at Loki, Wanda, and Strange and said, "You three are so lucky. I wish I could take on the slithering beast too."

Bucky stared at the man standing so close to him and it seemed to dawn on him. "You're not all there in the head are you?"

Quill scoffed, "You don't know the half of it." Gamora hit him in the arm. Hard. " _Ouch!_ What was that for?"

"For being rude and mean to your friend, that's what that was for."

While Quill rubbed his left arm and his wounded pride, Strange continued to survey the situation. After a moment of thought, he glanced at the people around him. "Alright, I'll open a portal for you three," he nodded towards the three Guardians, "so that you are next to the tree once we get the snake's attention-"

They should have just left Quill with Miss Foster and Lila and had brought Peter with them. Sure, Peter was only a child but at least he wouldn't have done the stupid thing that Quill did. He ran out from behind the tree he was hiding behind and shouted, "Hey, Sir Hiss! Over here!" And then he started firing his blaster guns at the curled up snake. It furiously hissed and started to uncoil itself.

Loki just wanted to bang his head against a wall. "So much for being stealthy."

"Well, the snake's distracted now," Strange mumbled as he opened a portal for Gamora, Mantis, and Drax, who all quickly went through it and ended up next to the red wood but away from the man-eating snake. Strange glanced to Bucky. "Quill's on the left so you go right." Bucky nodded sternly and ran off to the right side of the snake and fired a few shoots. The snake just seemed to grow more agitated. "Shall we?" Strange said with a motion of his hand.

"Sure, why not," Wanda said as she, Loki, and Strange all stepped out of their hiding spots and walked closer towards the snake. The giant creature was constantly being attacked from its left and right and it was so confused and angry that it didn't seem to know if it wanted to attack Bucky or Quill first. So when they both stopped firing their guns, it shook its big head, sticking out its long forked tongue, and focused all of its attention of the three who were only about fifteen feet away. Suddenly the snake lunged forward.

Conjuring up their shields was like second nature to the three, so the snake's head just slammed up against the giant orange, green, and red shield of combined magic and energy. The snake tried to burst through their shield but it couldn't, so it tried to go around it, but Bucky and Quill were both there to keep it in its place with their continuous firing. Holding their shields in place, preparing for when the monstrous creature would ram its head against it again was tedious work. When the snake hit their shield with a very brute amount of force, Wanda flinched and let out a strained sound.

"You okay?" Loki asked as he felt his hands start to shake. Thank the stars that he wasn't by himself like he had been the night before when the Frost Creature had tried to break through his shield, because if he had been alone he doubted that he would be able to hold the snake off at all.

"I'm fine," Wanda said breathlessly. Her resolve to keep her shimmering scarlet energy in place was impressive and just showed how powerful she truly was to be able to "keep up" with Loki and Strange who were a bit more seasoned when it came to fighting off scary otherworldly creatures.

But then again, Strange was looking a little winded himself. "This is more difficult than I previously thought."

"Which part?" Loki started, deciding to pick on the semi-annoying Doctor. "Casting spells or defending yourself against a monstrous snake?"

"The snake part," Strange grumbled.

"Well dear me, Doctor. Have you never fought a monstrous snake before?"

Strange sighed deeply and Loki could just about hear the eye roll in his tone. "You know Loki, this is why you wouldn't have done well at Karma-Taj. Not everything has to be so dramatic."

"Of course it does! And it's not because I prefer it that way, it's because drama just seems to follow me around."

"Well, I wonder why."

"Will you two please just shut up?!" Wanda yelled at them. "Some of us are actually trying to focus!"

"Terribly sorry," Loki said softly.

Though he doubted if she even heard him because at the same time he said that, Gamora shouted, "Everyone's down from the tree! We need to leave!"

Loki glanced to Strange. "You focus on getting the others to safety. Wanda and I will handle the snake." Strange nodded and did not hesitate in dropping his hands to run off to a place where he could see the others. While he was off to the sidelines opening portals, Loki and Wanda stayed where they were, feeling the strong force of the angry snake. They couldn't hold out forever. "Strange are you finished?"

"Just a second."

"It would be better if you were done now!" Loki called over his shoulder.

"Hang on!" Strange twirled his hand and opened a portal next to Quill, who ran through it, then he opened one next to Bucky, who did the same. "Everyone's safe. We can leave now."

"Easier said than done," Wanda muttered under the strain.

"Brace yourselves," Strange called to them. Loki didn't have time to wonder what he had to brace himself for because suddenly a portal opened up underneath his and Wanda's feet and they both dropped through it. What was it with Strange and dropping people through portals? At least he didn't fall for thirty minutes like last time. After about four seconds of falling they both made contact with the soft grass of the ground. Well, they might not have fallen far but it still was humiliating to fall flat on your face in front of everyone. Especially when two seconds later, Strange jumped through another portal and landed perfectly on his feet. Strange, in spite of himself, quietly chuckled to himself at the sight of Loki and Wanda laid out on the grassy ground. "You two alright?" he mused.

Loki glared at the tall Doctor. "Oh, will you just go away?" He got himself up, brushed himself off, and offered a hand to a tired looking Wanda.

She breathlessly shook her head. "If my powers are constantly regenerating as you said and I am still this wiped out, I can hardly think what it's like to use traditional magic."

Loki shrugged. "It-well, it really is a bloody nuisance sometimes but…I can't complain too much. So, don't you worry about being able to handle having your strength drained when you haven't even learned much of anything just yet, okay?" Wanda shook her head looking slightly relieved. Was she really worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the pains of traditional magic? From what he saw of her, she was more than capable. She just needed a good teacher and to be honest, he wasn't sure that was himself.

Loki, Wanda, and Strange all stood next to a tall tree with golden yellow leaves, directly to their left was Bucky standing close to where Peter sat with little Lila and Miss Foster, and off to their right was three of the four Guardians standing next to T'Challa, Sam, Scott. And nearby them was Gamora, holding Nebula into a death hug. Everyone seemed to have their attentions turned to the reuniting sisters. So much so, that Loki began to wonder if any of the people had seen him and Wanda fall to the ground. Gamora half whispered half cried, "Nebula, you're okay. I'm so glad that you're okay."

"S-same thing about you," Nebula said quietly. It was one of those few times that Nebula's emotions were shining through more than just her eyes. And it was understandable. She had her sister back. It made Loki smile softly.

Gamora held her sister out at arm's length, looking her over. "I was worried that Thanos was going to kill you. That in his mind he would have no use for you and…and…" She shook her head, lost in the horrors that had gone through her head of what could have happened to her sister.

Nebula's beautiful black eyes had never shinned so much in her life. "And you. I-I thought you were gone…forever." She looked as if she was going to start crying. So did Gamora. So instead they both went back to their embrace.

It was one of those moments that again nobody wanted to ruin but yet some idiot managed to ruin it anyways. This time that idiot was Scott Lang. He whispered to Sam, "Man, this has got to be the sweetest thing I have ever seen. And I have a daughter who likes Disney movies, so I've seen a lot of sweet things."

Nebula's overjoyed expression was gone in an instant and that death glare of hers was set right on Scott. " _Lang_." Scott pretty much jumped at Nebula's irritated and harsh tone. And Loki honestly couldn't tell which was funnier, the scared man or Nebula's never ending feistiness. But regardless he chuckled and gained the blue woman's attention. The look of surprise was slightly unexpected, but then again maybe she had been so focused on having Gamora back that she didn't notice anything else. The surprise mellowed into a mild and contained happiness and she nodded to him. "I see you've been busy." She was referring to him finding the huge group of people that now stood all around them. Of course he couldn't take the credit for finding everyone but in this moment of _finally_ knowing that she was safe, he wasn't going to go off about how he had had some help.

He half smirked and motioned to the three men next to the Guardians. "I've notice that you have been too." The slight mischievous smile Nebula gave him made everything else just fade into mist. There was no one but just two old friends.

And then the confused Gamora glanced between the two of them. "Wait…you…? You two know each other?"

"Yeah," Quill answered. "Weird isn't it?"

Who knows what would have happened next. Maybe Loki and Nebula would have tried to explain without going into too much detail or maybe Gamora would have questioned her sister, but regardless, no one would know because Scott interrupted with something completely off topic. "You know," he said clearing his throat. "I just gotta say something about that rescue plan…that was amazing! Like how did you guys do all that? Because first this guy," he pointed to Quill, "was over here firing at the snake like a boss."

Quill smiled a stupidly smug smile at the entire group. "Like a boss," he repeated cheerfully.

Scott nodded and continued on. "Yeah and then the three who got us out of the tree…are you guys like aliens?" Before anyone could even think to answer Scott's ridiculous question, he was already talking about the next thing. "And then last but certainly not least, these other three," he looked to Loki, Strange, and Wanda, "…like wow! You guys are like some badass wizards when you work together!"

Wanda smiled and said causally, "The two men don't like the term "wizard" and technically I'm a witch."

Scott shrugged. "Yeah, but still. _Awesome_."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and it is so nice to finally be out of that tree and away from that snake." He glanced around at the large and vastly diverse group around him. He cleared his throat, almost uncomfortably. "I'd thank you all, but besides Wanda, Barnes, and the God I don't know who any of you people are."

Peter raised his hand in the air. "Mr. Falcon, sir, you know me. Well, you should. I'm Spider-Man."

Sam blinked a few times, staring at the boy sitting with little Lila, with an air of remembrance and shock. "The kid in the red and blue suit who talks too much during fights? You're that kid?"

"Yup. That's me." And then Peter quietly added, "Except I'm not a kid."

Loki sighed, "You're fifteen, _yes_ you are."

Basically everyone ignored him and Quill stepped towards Sam. "Well, to answer your question sir, I'm Peter Quill, also called Star-Lord and the leader of a little group called the Guardians of the Galaxy." Quill pointed to Gamora and Drax. "The superhot green lady here is my girl, Gamora. And the muscular dude over here is Drax." Drax cleared his throat. Quill rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Drax _the Destroyer_."

"Thank you," Drax said sincerely with a light nod.

Quill continued on by motioning to Mantis. "This gal is Mantis."

"Hi!" she said, waving excitedly at T'Challa, Sam, and Scott.

T'Challa smiled at the girl's enthusiasm, Sam half waved back, and Scott waved back almost just as excited. "And there's this guy," Quill said glancing at Strange. "He ain't part of the Guardians or anything but I figure I should introduce him. Dr. Strange. And he should not be mistaken for Dr. Strangelove."

Strange narrowed his eyes at the rugged man, looking anything but pleased. "Thanks, Quill."

Quill smirked and gave the Doctor a thumbs up. "No problem." Strange rolled his eyes. "And you said you already knew the Jedi girl, the metal-armed dude, and Mr. Green Jeans, so-"

"Mr. Green Jeans?" Sam jeered.

Loki rubbed his pounding temples and shook his head tiredly. "Don't even get me started."

"Point is," Quill went on, glancing to where Peter, Lila, and Miss Foster stood, "that leaves the second Peter, which you kinda met, the kid of some Hawk-Man or whatever, and a really fierce lady who bitch slapped Mr. Green Jeans."

Sam, Scott, and T'Challa all started with surprise and turned to stare at the brunette woman sitting with Lila. Loki knew their looks only too well. They were thinking, that harmless looking woman, slap a man who was basically a god? Yeah, well, he learned a long time ago to not underestimate Jane Foster. "Did you really do that?" Scott asked, almost timidly.

Miss Foster glanced at the three men and nodded her head. At that Sam let out a roaring laugh. "Ah, man! You guys should've recorded the God gettin' owned. Bet it would've been the funniest thing ever." Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Quill smirked and said, "Oh, it was. It was."

Sam's attention was drawn back to Quill at that comment and he smiled. He held his hand out towards him. "Sam Wilson. The Falcon."

"Cool name," Quill said, taking Sam's hand and shaking it.

"Yeah," Scott agreed, off to the sidelines of where the other two men stood. "But it's not as cool as Star-Lord. Really neat. I'm Scott by the way. Scott Lang. Ant-Man." Quill nodded and shook his hand too. "So, how'd you come up with your code name anyways?"

Quill smiled in quiet remembrance. "Well," he started, happy to have somebody's attention for once, "it's this funny little story-"

"Oh, I fear for humanity," Loki muttered, not caring that he was interrupting. He glanced at the three annoying men. "But then again I suppose I shouldn't be overly shocked that you three would get along."

Sam and Quill both gave him a smoldering look and Scott just looked confused, which apparently was just his go to look. And bless T'Challa, because he decided to draw everyone back on track. And he managed to do it with only two sentences. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet all of you," he said glancing to everyone in the group. "And I thank you all for your help with saving us from our predicament."

Loki half smiled. The genuine thankfulness and humility that always seemed to come out of T'Challa's words never ceased to astound him. A good king he was indeed.

"You're the King of Wakanda, right?" Miss Foster asked, standing up from the where she had been sitting next to the full leafy bushes.

T'Challa nodded with a hint of a smile. "I am."

Miss Foster blinked a few times, almost shell-shocked. "Wow. I…I have read so much about the technology and the science you have. All the breakthroughs you and your people have made is fantastic." Of course, the woman in love with science would have read all about Wakanda and its wonders.

"Thank you, but it is more my sister then myself. And speaking of which," T'Challa suddenly seemed more serious as he turned to Loki, "how is Shuri?"

 _Translation: Is my sister alive?_

Loki said, "She's alive and well. A bit heartbroken maybe…" T'Challa let out a sigh of relief to know that his genius sister was okay but almost as quickly as he looked relieved, the worry came back. The young king did not have to voice his emotions because they were so clearly painted on his face. He felt guilty that his sister was alone and he felt an urgency to get back to Wakanda to see to the wellbeing of his people. Loki quickly added, "But she and your mother both seemed optimistic when we developed our rescue plan." T'Challa nodded appearing slightly less concerned.

There was a few seconds of silence, followed by Strange muttering almost regretfully, "We still have another stop to make."

"A stop?" Scott asked.

Drax nodded. "Yes. The wizard with the Blanket of Death has lead us to groups of people that we need to find and the Key that is Low has been suspicious the entire time."

Loki sucked in a deep breath and decided that he was done with Drax getting his name wrong. So he turned to Wanda and started continuing on with the basics of magic as if they hadn't been interrupted. "Second lesson of learning magic is to not _do_ magic but to _feel_ it. It should become second nature until you don't even think about it. Observe." He twisted his hand and a light flickering green glow grew around his hand. Suddenly the glow engulfed Drax and he was turned into a slimy, jade colored frog.

A chorus of shocked cries rose up from the group. Quill exclaimed, "Holy crap man, not cool!"

Peter shook his head and said, "That's not at all what I was going to say! That's _awesome_!"

Loki smirked, feeling a sense of pride for his action. And let's face it, the confused and downright stunned expressions of everyone, except for Strange who looked about ready to hit Loki and Nebula who looked about ready to laugh, was quite enjoyable.

"It's like the _Princess Frog_!" Lila said happily.

Gamora squinted her eyes at the small jumping frog, not believing Drax had been changed into such a meek creature. "How'd you- _what?_ "

"The God can do some tricks," Sam explained, crossing his arms. "But I didn't know it was anything like… _that_."

Mantis bent down to grab the frog but he kept on jumping. You couldn't blame him. He had no idea what was happening. "Drax," Mantis said running after the frog. "Drax! Stop trying to hop away!" She managed to clasp her hands around the small slippery frog and keep her hold on him. "Drax, stop squirming!" Drax didn't listen.

"Well…" T'Challa started glancing from Loki to the young woman holding what used to be a person back to Loki, looking at a loss for words. Probably was the first time that had ever happened. "Good to see you are still so…mischievous."

"Typical," Miss Foster muttered.

Nebula scoffed, "Please, _dramatic_ is as good as his middle name."

Loki smiled softly again looking into those deep eyes of Nebula's once again. "Oh, you know me so well."

"Okay," Wanda interrupted, "Feel the magic, don't do it. I get the picture. Thank you. But you should probably change him back now."

Loki half-heartedly shrugged. "Well…"

"Dude! Seriously?" Quill half yelled, looking at him in disbelief.

Loki sighed, " _Fine_. You people just want to suck the joy out of life." With another twist of his hand and another flash of bright green, the frog in Mantis's hands was changed back into the idiotic muscular man. No longer was Mantis holding a frog but Drax's arm.

"Drax? Are you okay?" the pale girl asked.

Drax spun to face her and then glanced all around him. "That was…weird." He focused his sights on Loki and said sternly, "Do not do that again."

Loki retorted back, "If you don't want to be a member of the amphibian species, then stop calling me the Key that is Low." Drax swallowed and slightly nodded in agreement.

"Alright then," Strange said tiredly, rubbing his temples. "Now can we make our next stop?"

"Do I need to keep my strength for this stop?" Loki asked. Strange shook his head no. "Then one second." He had strength enough to heal up the little Lila's leg, so he took the opportunity to do so. Another flash of green was sent from his hand but this time it went over the girl's leg and transformed the black and blue skin back to its healthy pink complexion.

"Hey! My leg!" Lila exclaimed upon seeing her leg looking considerably better. She didn't even wait to see if it was all better, she just sprung to her feet. She happily smiled at Loki. "Thank you, that's so nice of you."

Loki smiled down at the girl. Miss Foster stared at the scene in confusion. "Okay…not typical."

Wanda chuckled and told her, "You may find that the God of Mischief is very different from how you remember him."

Nebula turned to the fair haired woman and eyed her with curiosity. "Oh, yes," Loki said following Nebula's gaze. "You two haven't officially met yet. Nebula, Wanda Maximoff. And Wanda…well, you get the point."

The two women met each other's eyes and both nodded with a pleasant look on their faces. They both had heard so much about the other that they both felt like they knew the other one. "Nice to meet you," Wanda said.

Nebula half smiled. "Same to you. It's good to put the name with a face."

Sam squinted at Nebula appearing confused. "Alright, where was this lady with her nice hospitality when we were stuck in that damn tree?"

Nebula spun to face him, a dangerous spark in those eyes of hers. "She was annoyed as hell at two men who were acting like stupid children."

Before Sam or anyone else for that matter could say a word, Strange cleared his throat in a not so discreet way. Bucky sighed and told the whole group, "We should go. 'Cause when Strange does that it means he wants to leave."

"And where are we going?" Sam asked.

"To find a few more people," Strange said.

When it became clear that Strange wasn't going to say anything else, Scott asked, "Uh…could you maybe be a little more specific?"

Without hesitation Strange replied, "No." The almost offended look on Scott's face was hilarious. Strange went about opening yet another portal, this one leading to a grassy and hilly woods. "Just through here," he said with a motion of his hand.

Sam, Scott, and T'Challa were the only ones in the group to seem hesitant. And for good reason. They did not know Strange and they did not understand why he was very obviously holding information from them. As the others made their way to and then through the portal, Loki stayed back and told the three men, "Just do what he says, because he will not elaborate."

T'Challa seemed to understand and he followed the others through the portal. When he went to leave, Sam and Scott both silently agreed to follow him and put aside their distrust for Strange. Loki glanced at Strange, who appeared to be grateful. "Thank you."

Loki didn't say a word, he just stepped through the portal and was met with a thick cloud of humidity and heat. He honestly felt like he had walked into a wall. "Stars above!" he exclaimed. This place was truly horrible. Sure, it looked nice, with rolling hills covered in thick glossy grass, and smaller trees that were more spread apart then most of the never ending forest they had seen before now, but the heat… He glanced at Strange as he closed the portal. "Let me guess, the summer section?" Strange nodded with a sympathetic smile. "Perfect," he muttered.

Strange once again took the lead, with all of the Guardians and Peter close behind him, Wanda, Bucky, Sam, and Scott followed them, and Loki, T'Challa, Nebula, Miss Foster, and little Lila were in the back. They were quite the large group, stumbling around in the little shade from the boiling sun. Their last stop would have to be in the hottest place. They couldn't just stay in the autumn woods or even the spring area. Stars, how he hated summer.

The voice of T'Challa right beside him shook him out of his thoughts. "Your friend, Nebula, told us this endeavor was your idea."

He glanced at the man who was still in his Black Panther uniform. "Well, sort of. I had a bit of a breakthrough and figured out you were all trapped here, but I'm not per say responsible for this search party. That was all the responsibility of the dear Captain."

T'Challa nodded, but said, "Still, I hate to wonder where we all would be without you."

Loki shrugged. "Someone would have figured it out. My role is not…is not that vital to the group." When T'Challa did not say anything for a minute or so, he turned to face him and saw the kindly king smiling at him. "What?"

"Your modesty _is_ astounding," T'Challa told him, repeating what he had said sarcastically on the battle field. This time, however, there was no sarcasm in his tone, only deep and genuine respect.

Before he could say anything or think to say anything, Nebula came up beside him and added, "It's also slightly annoying. The things he should take credit for, he shrugs off like they are no big deal."

Loki turned to Nebula, remembering way he missed her feisty attitude. "Thank you, Nebula, I get the picture. Apparently you would prefer for me to gloat about all of my accomplishments." He smirked at her glare that said, that's not what I meant at all and you know it. "But speaking of slightly annoying, that reminds me. Sam?" The man wearing his winged jetpack glanced over his shoulder at the sound of his name. "I apologize for saying you were the annoying one."

"Really?" Sam asked, completely surprised.

Loki nodded. "Oh, yes. I spoke too soon. That title obviously belongs to Quill." Said man that he just named the most annoying, turned around only to scowl at him.

Scott rubbed his chin, pondering. "You really think that Star-Lord is the most annoying guy ever?"

Loki nodded again. "Yes, but don't worry. You are the runner up."

Scott was silent for two seconds before he realized that he should feel insulted. "Hey, that's not-"

A voice rang throughout the forest of smaller trees. "Is someone out there?"

The entire group, all fifteen of them, paused. Bucky glanced around the woods. "I know that voice."

Sam nodded, following Bucky's example. "Yeah, so do I. Rhodey! Is that you, man?"

There was three or four seconds of silence and then the tired sounding voice called, "Sam?" The voice was enough to confirm that it was in fact Rhodey, but then the man came into view about ten feet away. Rhodey was a sweaty mess. His gray shirt was practically drenched in perspiration. Sam was the first one to start running towards his friend, followed by the other members of the Avengers. Everyone else made their way more slowly over. Rhodey stood in the shade of apple tree watching the large group of people coming towards him. "Wow. Been busy much?" he asked no one in general.

"Bit of an understatement," Wanda said stepping over to the exhausted looking man. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded, breathlessly. "It's a little hot out."

Loki scoffed, "Now that is the true understatement."

"Where's the obnoxious arrow man?" Nebula asked Rhodey.

"Clint should be coming along. He was behind me but he has to keep his two kids with him so-"

"My brothers are okay!" Lila exclaimed happily.

Gamora smiled down at the girl. "It would appear so, sweetie."

Rhodey pointed at the girl, realizing who she was. "Ah, you must be Lila. Your dad will be so happy to see that you're okay." The tired man glanced around at the group again, appearing a bit out of sorts. But then again the heat could do that to a person.

"Excuse me," Miss Foster started, "I don't mean to interrupt, but is that a walking tree?" She pointed behind Rhodey. And sure enough, they all saw the small outline a free roaming tree. Not just any tree though.

"Oh, yeah," Rhodey said wiping his forehead. "Almost forgot about him."

As the short human shaped creature came closer into view, the Guardians all looked relieved. Quill smiled and shouted out, "Hey! Groot!"

Groot's eyes widened when he saw his friends. "I am Groot?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, man! It's us!" Quill shouted with his arms spread open, looking almost as happy as he did when he was reunited with Gamora. Groot blinked a few times and then with a smile ran over to the Guardians. He was met with not only with Quill's open arms, but all of the Guardians' open arms. It was an odd but still touching group hug. The single oddest and most touching part was how Groot grew his limb arms to hug all the Guardians.

Everyone was so transfixed with the reunion of this strange group of people, that nobody heard Barton come up to where Rhodey was standing in the shade. "What in the world?" he barely mumbled.

Rhodey spun to face the archer, startled. He hadn't heard him either. "Clint."

With that one word, little Lila turned her gaze from the Guardians to her father. "Daddy!" she exclaimed and she ran from where she had been standing with Miss Foster and Peter. Lila's reaction was enough to tear some of the group's attentions from the Guardians to Barton, who had his bow in one hand, a cute little two year old boy in the other, and another boy who was about nine next to him.

Barton looked like the happiest man on the planet as he knelt down and hugged his daughter. "Oh my God! Lila! Well, hello…it's so good to see you."

Between the two heartfelt reunions, everyone was content with just watching. Peter had a small smile on his face and he whispered, "Seriously, the sweetness will not stop today."

Groot seemed to realize for the first time that there was other people around him. He glanced at everyone, recognizing the ones who were on the battlefield in Wakanda, and he slowly brought back his elongated arms. "I am Groot?" he asked, sounding curious.

"What did he say?" Miss Foster asked.

"That's his way of speaking," Mantis told her, still in a tangle of tree limbs.

"Yeah," Quill said, "and he asked who all you guys are. They're the Avengers… Well, except for Mr. Green Jeans, apparently."

"He should be though!" little Lila exclaimed, getting into their conversation. "He healed my broken leg!"

Barton's head jerked upward in surprise. He glanced at his happy daughter and then his gaze slowly turned to Loki. He appeared shocked. "You…you healed her leg?"

"Yes?" Loki said, and for some reason it came out as a question.

"Well…uh, I…" Barton turned his head slightly and saw that Rhodey was giving him a, I told you so, look. "Yes, Rhodey I deserve that look." He stood up and faced Loki head on. "I guess I should say thank you… Thank you."

"Of course," Loki said with a nod.

"Right," Barton said nodding as well. He glanced down at the ground. "Well…right. Um, good, okay… Everyone happy? I'm trying to be civil."

"Oh, I am happy," Wanda said with a big smile.

"I'd be happier if we enacted the spell to get us back to Earth," Strange mumbled to himself. Loki sighed.

 _Hint dropping is not his forte._

Barton eyed the wizard doctor, probably recognizing the style of robes that he wore that were so similar to Wong's. "We haven't officially met yet. I'm Clint Barton."

"Yes, I know. I'm Dr. Strange and forgive me for the brush off but it is imperative that we leave. _Now_."

"We can't leave yet," Scott said, sounding a little worried. "I promised Hope I would find her parents."

"Hope?" Miss Foster asked.

"A feisty woman with slightly poor taste in men," Loki told her.

"The point is…" Scott suddenly stopped and turned to face the trickster god. "I just got what you said and it was not cool!"

Strange sighed, "Mr. Lang, I realize that you wish to keep your promise to Hope but all I'm saying is that we should all go back and regroup. I mean, look at the size of our group. We're growing by the minute."

Loki couldn't help but stare at the Doctor. This entire time, Strange had been hiding something and not telling everyone what he knew. But this was different. This wasn't a half truth, it was a deliberate lie. Loki could tell the difference between sincerity and deceptiveness. _"All I'm saying is that we should all go back and regroup."_ Strange didn't really believe that.

Gamora nodded in agreement of what Strange had said. "Yes. Besides with the kids and Groot, I think it's best if we leave this place even if only for a while."

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed.

"Now what did he say?" Bucky asked.

Quill answered, "He wanted to know why Gamora piled him in with the group of kids. And the answer is, because you are a kid yourself, dude."

By now, Groot's arms were back to normal size and he crossed them over his chest. He defiantly said, "I am Groot."

"Yes, you are too a kid," Quill retorted back.

Peter walked over to Groot and said, "I know exactly how you feel, man."

Loki glanced at the group around him and saw that they all seemed to have slightly agreed to Strange's plan of leaving. Loki sighed. Before the group got diverged into one of their epic and time consuming conversations, he figured he should say something. "I guess, if everyone is in agreement about leaving, then I…I should enact the spell."

"Allow me," Strange said stepping up to him. "You have used up an awful lot of your energy in the past couple days. I would hate for you to reach your limit." Loki smirked, not believing him. "What?"

Loki half chuckled and conjured up Wong's book. "Here," he handed it to Strange with the page turned to the page with the spell. "You should be able to work it out. You are mildly talented."

"Mildly?" Strange asked, almost offended. He took the book and read through the spell. "Yes, I can work this out." Loki continued to eye the Doctor. "What?" Strange asked, annoyed.

"Just a word of advice, Doctor. Very few people are able to deceive me. You are not one of them. So, if you are not going to tell us the whole story, fine. I won't be suspicious of you because I know how it feels but please do not insult me with your feeble attempts at lying."

Strange didn't say a word about what Loki had said and instead told the group, "Everyone stand together. You also might want to shut your eyes because it's going to get bright." The Guardians, half of the Avengers along with Barton's charming looking children, Miss Foster, Nebula, and Loki all stood together as Strange placed the book on the ground. He then started to enact the spell in the same way that Loki had done, two days before. He rose his hands into the air and twisted them around, conjuring up a faint glow. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the glow until a light orange burst of magic began to encircle the group.

"Whoa," Peter mumbled with wide eyes.

"It will be good to get back home," T'Challa said to himself.

Gamora having heard him and said, "Thank God for Strange then. He knew exactly where to find you."

Loki shrugged. "I still say it was a little too convenient." Wanda hit his arm. "What?" She rolled her eyes at him. Strange slowly brought his hands down to his sides, and as he did so the shimmering and bouncing magic became brighter and brighter, until it was almost white and blinding. And then they left the mysterious Soul World behind.

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 _Author's Note Again: You'll have to tell me, was that any good? I know I ask this a lot but this time I really mean it. I have been working on this chapter for like ever and I was so sick of it for a while and then and then and then… and now, I don't know. You'll just have to tell me if you like it or not._

 _So…it's been a while since I did this._

 _Again I am so sorry that it took this long to update. I didn't expect it to be this long. I don't want to make excuses but, well, let's face it, I am. School has been busy and hectic, but I am happy to report mostly As and Bs in all my classes. I was sick with a cold for about a week. My birthday is tomorrow so I have been planning that. So…yeah. I guess that's all on the excuses._

 _I hope, I really, really hope to get the next chapter out a whole heck of a lot sooner than I did this one. I am really looking forward to next chapter. It's going to be another rollercoaster of events, leading us into the next section of the story. (And I know I have Clint being civil, but don't bet that that is going to last very long.) Let's just say that we finally get to see what Howard wrote to Tony and everything about Loki's past finally comes to light._

 _I know. I got you all excited! I'm so mean! (Seriously, sorry…)_

 _Well, I guess that's all for now. And I am assuming that everyone already saw the Captain Marvel trailer and there's no need to ask? Okay. Cool. Thank you to all of my reviewers, favoriters, followers, and readers. Thank you for always making writing a joy. Have a lovely day!_


	15. Hello

Hello.

So I keep getting reviews asking me when Chapter 14 is coming out, which I deserve that. I honestly thought that I would be able to do this one a lot quicker but you know, life happens.

I hate to keep blaming school, but who am I kidding, I'm going to blame school and exhaustion. And sometimes the lack of inspiration. I find it very difficult to write sometimes when I not in the mood. It is not blockage just…indifference.

You should all be happy to know that within the last two weeks I have really found my spark for writing again. It's just the damn school work… Give me the weekend. I have a Halloween party to go to that I told my friend Samantha (yeah the one I mention sometimes) I would help her plan, but I should not have anything else going on.

My guess would be Chapter 14 should be uploaded by Monday. But if it isn't for some ungodly reason, don't worry. It will come soon. _Soon_.

Okay?

We all good?

Sorry again for the wait, but I do think you will love the next chapter so…hope to hear from you on Monday.

-TGWLTMS2.0


	16. Chapter Fourteen

_Author's Note: Hello…I made my deadline! Yay! There were a few moments where I thought I wouldn't but, I did it._

 _All of your support and comments telling me to take my time was much appreciated. Thank you!_

 _So, this chapter is extra-long. In fact, it is the second longest chapter I have written to date (Chapter 3 is still the longest). I had a lot to say I guess. And you should know, you all are probably going to hate Clint in this chapter. You all are probably going to love Bruce in this chapter. But I know that most of you will be pretty excited by the end of this chapter._

 _No more talk. We can do that later. Enjoy!_

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 _Chapter Fourteen: Everything Comes to Light_

The world was resilient. It was capable of pulling itself out from the flames of disaster and limp onward until someone was willing to come and help save it. The world had always been like that. Tony had known that for almost ten years. And yet, he was genuinely surprised when the world and its population limped onward after losing so many people.

 _So many_ people.

Steve had a point. He always had a point. And Tony wasn't naïve. Mass hysteria was a true concern, but what could he say? After witnessing Peter vanish into nothing…he wasn't thinking straight. When he fought with Steve till the late morning hours, arguing against spending all of their time saving the masses, he hadn't been thinking like an Avenger. He was thinking like a man wanting revenge. But as each day passed, the want for revenge melted away into a sort of emptiness that felt foreign to him.

Well, it _almost_ felt foreign to him.

Before… before he had decided to stop all of his weapons manufacturing and become a superhero. Before he truly started letting people into his life, he had felt empty. A sort of emptiness that made a gaping hole that he tried to fill with parties and women. Now of course, the hole was not as big as it had been then, but it was still a considerable size.

 _Sigh._

There was no point getting sidetracked about his emotions when things had to be done. So, for the four and a half days that went by following the search party's departure, he dove into his role of understanding the mechanics and science behind the Infinity Stones. Well…he started to and then Bruce reminded him about Pepper.

Yikes! Of course!

What kind of fiancé was he to completely forget about Pepper?

The first nine times he tried calling her he was met with: _"Hi, this is Pepper Potts. I guess I'm out somewhere. Probably out with Tony making sure he doesn't do something crazy. Well, leave me a message and I'll give you a call back. Bye."_ Tony had been worried and scared in the past, but those several minutes before he finally got hold of Pepper were some of the worst fear ridden moments of his life. He had already lost Peter. He had lost about half of his team. He could not lose Pepper too.

And thank God, because he didn't. She was fine. Perfectly fine. He had told her to stay where she was, which she was still in New York. He would have Cap and the others who were tasked with helping people come and get her if they had time. As of yet, they hadn't had time. Steve, Natasha, and that Wasp woman, Hope, had been on the go since the search party left. And Shuri, that brilliant girl, sat in her lab everyday surrounded by screens and holographs with news feeds from around the globe. She would find the places that were going through the worst of it and send the three coordinates.

And surprisingly, New York was never one of the places Shuri sent them. Made sense, he guessed. After what happened in 2012, the city was probably used to mind boggling disasters. So, Tony just made sure he called and talked with Pepper at least four hours a day. It was around two o'clock in the afternoon and he had just gotten off of the phone with her. Pepper had half-jokingly told him that their obsessive talking was just him being paranoid. Wow. The woman knew him so well. He _was_ paranoid and rightfully so in this case.

He sat in a room with blue drapes hanging on every wall. Some sort of fancy sitting room if he had to guess. He didn't really look at the décor though, he just needed a place to think and talk in private. Now, he was sitting on silver chair that might just be made of vibranium, holding his cellphone in one hand and the note from his dad in his other.

God that had been a shock! At first he thought it was just Reindeer Games messing with him. But the more he read on in the note, it became clear that this was no joke. Who had time to process what this all meant though? Certainly not him. Not with dealing with this damned emptiness, and staying in contact with Pepper, and with their crazy new plan to-

"Hey."

At the sound of the soldier's deep voice, Tony spun around to the door. And sure enough, standing in the door was the bearded Steve Rogers. "Oh, hi. You're back."

Steve nodded. "For a while. We've been going strong for over four days…I thought it be best if we take a small breather."

"Makes sense."

Steve nodded again, glancing to the floor. It was really weird how different Cap looked with that ridiculous beard and yet, he was still the mild but dangerous Captain. And then Tony realized why it had suddenly become so tense in the air. They both had jumped right back into their roles as co-leaders of the Avengers so quickly that they never had time to talk. _Really_ talk. The tension had been there when they had fought about what they should do next, but it was just an underlining problem. They both knew this was no time to drudge up the past. But now…

The silence just hung there for a good forty seconds before Steve finally cleared his throat. "Frog in your throat, Cap?" Tony asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Steve half smiled, but his gaze was still pointed downwards. "When we, uh, when we arrived I talked with Bruce. He told me your new plan."

Now it was Tony's turn to glance at the floor. "Technically it's not _my_ plan. Bruce, Point Break, Shuri, and even that annoying raccoon threw in their two cents to…you know, help form it."

Steve finally looked up and he did something Tony hadn't expected. He asked, "You okay?"

Very, _very_ unexpected. He thought that Steve was about to criticize their new plan, not ask how he was doing. He glanced up. "Why?"

Steve stepped further into the room and shrugged. "From what Bruce said, you have been abnormally nonverbal the last few days."

Tony nodded. "Just had a lot on my mind I guess."

"Who hasn't? …I'm sure that Pepper is fine."

"Oh, she is. She is. I, uh, we talk and text a lot." Tony motioned to his phone to indicate that he had been talking with Pepper on a regular basis.

"The search party is doing fine too, Tony."

He chuckled. Classic Steve, seeing right through him and trying to comfort him. "Yeah. I know. Rhodey, he's ah, he's good and capable. And Clint. We know he's good when it comes to crazy adventurous situations. …Lang's probably going to get his ass kicked by someone."

It was Steve's turn to chuckle. "There you are," he said quietly. "The funny one in the group."

"Really? _The_ funny one? I guess I can live with that."

Both men smiled at each other, remembering what it had been like before their little "Civil War". Steve blinked a few times, his smile slowly going away. "Seriously, Tony, are you alright?"

Tony chuckled again, humorlessly this time. "You know, I don't think I was ever "alright". I've just always been so…but it is what it is." He focused his attention on his hands and remembered his dad's note. He scoffed at the sight of it. "You know, Reindeer Games gave me this." He held up the note so Steve could see it and then after a split second decision, he got up, walked over to the rugged Captain and handed him the note. Steve gave him a confused look but took it anyways and started to unfold it. "Brace yourself," Tony said, sitting back down. "It gave me a hell of a shock."

Steve glanced up at Tony and then went back to the note. He read it quietly to himself, not that he had to read it out loud. Tony had read it a good forty times. He practically knew it all by heart by now. An old fountain pen with jet black ink written on a folded piece of paper. With his dad's handwriting. The note went a little like this:

 _Son,_

 _First of all let me apologize for giving you the shock of your life with just that first word. I realize this doesn't make any sense, even to you, a man with a flying suit and such colorful friends, but this note is authentic and not a trick. It's really from me. Your father. There is so much I want to write and should write but, you know. This note is so small. All I can say is I love you Anthony and I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me._

 _I also wanted you to know that all these years after my death, I do not hold Sergeant Barnes accountable. Because I knew the man before. He would have never done what he did, if he had been in his right mind. To me, the way I see it, we were all victims. Sergeant Barnes, you, your mother, and me. Latching onto revenge and hate does not help, but then again I know who you learned it from. Don't let the past destroy your future Anthony. Your friends are your family. Protect them, learn from them, hell, yell at them if you want, but don't push them away._

 _I love you son and I want your life to be less lonely then mine was (and I swear I'm not writing that to make you feel sorry for me). I'll be thinking about you, as will your mother._

 _Love,_

 _Your Father_

 _P.S. Tell Steve I said hi and so did Peggy Carter. I know she wanted to give Steve a message so much but, she did not want to be a burden. She said she felt guilty for leaving him so suddenly in the middle of a crisis. So, I'll tell you to tell Steve "hi" from Peg._

Steve's head jerked upward. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Apparently, he had finished the note. "So," he started slowly. "When Loki went to…to the afterlife plane, he saw _him_?"

Tony shrugged. "Guess so."

Steve stared at the note written by Howard Stark himself and just shook his head. He whispered, "If Loki saw him, then…he must have seen _her_ too."

Tony glanced back at Steve when he heard the way the Captain had said the word "her". Steve didn't have to explain, Tony knew who he was talking about. Margret "Peggy" Carter. The one that got away.

He nodded. "I know. It's…You know, I've read over that thing about hundred times and…" He trailed off and started half-heartedly laughing. That got Steve's attention. "It's crazy, isn't it? I have a note from my long dead dad. All the things I've seen…aliens, miracles, robots, Gods. And _this_ is the one thing I have trouble accepting."

Steve lowered his gaze back to the note and stared at it for a moment before nodding. "It's understandable. Because despite all that we've seen, there's always something new. Something unexpected."

"Yeah, tell me about it…You know," Tony paused to clear his throat and to meet Steve's eyes. "The last year with you and the other members of the team on the run…and then the note…Steve, I never meant for everything that happened to…everything I said…Barnes was a victim and I overreacted." Well, every word he said came out as a series of incomplete thoughts but hopefully Steve got the point he was trying to say. He was sorry for everything that went down in their "Civil War".

Steve half smiled with that calm and gentle look in his eye. He folded the note back up and stepped forward to hand it back to Tony. "I still should have told you what I knew, Tony."

Translation: I should have told you that my best friend from the forties killed your parents. Tony took back the note and shook his head. He kinda wished Steve had told him that "minor" little detail before Zemo had. "Yeah…alright. I agree with you on that one. So, let's just say that's on you and the rest is on me."

"It's on both of us."

Well wasn't that very fair of the good soldier? Tony half smiled. "Okay. I can live with that."

"Yeah," Steve agreed. "Me too."

The two men's nice moment was shattered when M'Baku suddenly ran into the room, appearing out of breath and excited. Steve spun around and Tony stood up from his chair again. "Whoa, gorilla man," Tony said taking a step towards M'Baku. "What's up?"

M'Baku took in a few hasty deep breaths and then quickly said, "In the fields to the north, some of the Jabari and myself spotted them…" He needed another moment to re-catch his breath. Tony and Steve both shared a look. Who had M'Baku and his people spotted? It was doubtful that Thanos would send anyone else after winning but with the mad Titan nothing was a for certain. M'Baku shook his head and went back to talking. "We saw a large group of people. We did not know who they were at first but then I recognized the young King and the rest of the search party."

Tony and Steve froze.

The search party was back. And it appeared, they were successful with their rescue mission.

…

Much like when he had first enacted the spell and woke up in the Soul World, the orange light turning to a white blinding light was the last thing Loki remembered before waking up in a daze. But this time instead of waking up alone under a large oak tree, he woke up in a yellow field with Nebula, Rhodey, Scott, and Barton around him. It took him two second to realize that the yellow field meant they were back in Wakanda and with that thought he sat up.

He and the other search party members were the only ones sitting in the grass. And for a moment no one else was around them, but then an orange mist swirled around the air directly in front of them. Scott shook his head at the sight, mildly confused. "What's happening?"

"Heck if I know," Rhodey mumbled.

Loki sat up straighter. "If I had to guess, I would say that this is the power of the Soul Stone restoring the bodies of those we rescued."

Scott looked no less confused. "The stone is doing the what now?"

Loki sighed. "Hope better have figured out a good reason for being with you or I am going to have to start questioning her intelligence." Scott frowned. Loki continued on, "Look, we went to the Soul World to save people's _souls_. Everything else that was them, their bodies, their minds, were completely erased from reality. Except their souls. And because we rescued their souls…"

The mist disappeared and standing in front of them was the large group of people that they had sent the last two days saving. Barton nodded his head understanding. "The stone created the Soul World for the souls to stay, so it would restore the soul's body if it were to leave."

Loki half smiled. "You catch on fast, Agent Barton."

Barton shrugged as he stood up. "You'd be surprised how often I get that."

While the rest of the search party stood up and brushed themselves off, the rest of group took a few seconds to check out their surroundings. Well, there was a lot to look at after all. From the yellow field that stretched out to the shrubby forest, to the ice covered mountains, to the giant metal city with its abundance of technology that was the crowing attachment of Wakanda.

Bucky was the first to break the silence. "Holy cow. It worked. We're actually back."

"Holy cow is right," Quill muttered. "But the real question is, where the heck are we?"

"Welcome to Wakanda," T'Challa said.

"Wow," Miss Foster said in awe, staring at the towering buildings. "I have read so much about this place and to actually see it with my own eyes…it's amazing."

"Ditto," Peter said with wide eyes.

T'Challa smiled affectingly at the place he called home. "Yes. It does feel very good to be home."

Quill stared to the city for a good thirty seconds before finally shaking his head. "Are we a hundred percent sure we're on Earth right now? 'Cause this don't look like anything I ever remember seeing when I was last on this planet."

"When were you last on Earth?" Bucky asked.

"1988," Quill answered.

Strange chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Well, things have changed a lot since then."

Wanda added, "And Wakanda is light years ahead of the technology in every other place on Earth."

"Oh," Mantis said softly. "So, all of Earth does not look like this?"

"Nope," Scott said. "Believe me, if it was, Earth would be a whole lot more interesting."

Nebula turned to Loki and quietly said, "I think it's time to question Hope's intelligence." Loki smirked.

Gamora took several steps in the direction of the city that was a good ten feet in front of them. "Whether the entire planet looks like this or not, this is quite remarkable."

"Yes," Drax said, nodding in agreement. "And to think, Quill told us that besides the outlaws, Earth was not that great of a place."

Every Earth born person standing in the group turned to Quill with a, what did you say about our planet, look on their faces. Quill glared at Drax. "He is totally taking what I said out of context."

"So, you meant "not a great place" as a complement?" Loki asked. He only asked the question to annoy Quill and it worked with flying colors.

"Dude! Don't gang up on me."

"It's what the God does," Sam said with a causal shrug.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked, sounding surprised.

Quill rolled his eyes. "Yes, Groot, he's really a god."

Groot paused for a moment and then asked, sounding less surprised, "I am Groot?"

Quill sighed, "No, not a god like Ego. Both of them are freaking annoying but where Ego was just a jackass, Mr. Green Jeans here is a _mischievous_ jackass."

"Thank you," Loki said sarcastically with a slight dramatic bow.

With a chuckle, Wanda told Loki, "Oh, stop it."

"Let me think about that," he said pretending to ponder it. He paused for four seconds before bluntly saying, "No."

Several people chuckled. Quill was not one of them. Neither was Strange, but as it would appear the doctor had no sense of humor when it came to being cryptic again. Strange crossed his arms and muttered, "We should head to the city. Tell everyone that we are back. We have things to do."

"Yes," Barton agreed. He had walked over to his three kids, scooped up his two year old, and stood by his other two kids like the good father he was. "I want to have my kids checked out by a doctor."

The eldest boy whined, "Dad, we're fine."

"Yeah!" little Lila shouted. "Besides, a doctor already checked me out. And the wizard guy healed my leg."

Barton smiled down at his daughter and ran his hand through her hair. "I know he did, I just worry. It's what I do."

T'Challa had walked ahead of the group and then turned around so that he could face them. "I can arrange for your children to be looked after once we get into the city. But I agree with Dr. Strange. We must let the others know that we are-"

A familiar female voice rang out through the field. " _Brother!_ "

T'Challa's eyes widened and he spun around in the direction of the shining city. Running towards him was his intelligent sister, smiling from ear to ear. "Shuri?" he said just above a whisper. Then he was running towards her. "I can't believe it! Is it really you?"

"You have some nerve to ask me if it's really me!" Shuri shouted, still smiling. She probably would have tackled him but instead she just threw her arms around him. The brother and sister just stood there in their reunion hug. "You really got some nerve."

For a few seconds everyone in the group was distracted by the two siblings reuniting, but then they realized that another group was rushing towards. A group of familiar faces.

Ramonda ran to her two children, looking like she was on the verge of happy tears. "My boy! You are home! Thank the ancestors for bring you home!" T'Challa opened his arms for his mother and soon it was a group hug for the small family.

The fierce and stern General Okoye for the first time appeared truly joyful as she reached the royal family. M'Baku, still dressed if far too much fur for the warm climate, was with her and smiled at the sight.

And then it became a challenge to keep up with the rest of the reunions because there were just so many people.

Loki's attention was pulled away from T'Challa and his family when Hope ran into view, dressed in some sort of a black and yellow suit similar to Scott's. The dark haired woman stood off to the sidelines, quickly scanning the crowd. Scott smiled upon seeing her. "Hope!"

She turned and saw her odd boyfriend. "Scott. Hey!"

Scott walked up to her and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, how have you been? Been out saving the world much?"

Hope shrugged and said, "As much as can be expected." Her expression slightly fell. "So, you couldn't find…"

Scott glanced down at his shoes, but met her eyes when he told her, "Believe me Hope, I tried to find your parents but…"

Of course. Every member of the search party had a specific person or group of people they wanted to find. Scott had wanted to find Hope's parents. The dear woman who had unfairly lost her parents had a new air of sadness around her.

Nearby where Scott and Hope stood, the dear Captain ran up to see Bucky.

"Bucky," he whispered.

The metal-armed man half smiled. "Hey punk," he greeted. He walked to him with open arms.

Steve hugged him and patted him on the back. "I'm glad you're back you jerk."

The next person Loki saw was Natasha. She happily met with Rhodey, Sam, and Wanda before heading straight to Barton and his three kids. "Well, look who's back!" she called.

Barton looked thrilled to see his closest friend and ex-partner, but it was little Lila who expressed her happiness the most. "Auntie Nat!"

She and Barton's eldest both ran to Natasha who greeted them with open arms. "You two kids _better_ give me a big hug!"

Who knows which person or group Loki would have gotten distracted by next. All he knew was he heard an all too familiar and at this point, wonderful voice say, "You have been busy."

Loki half smirked and turned to his left. Thor was about six feet away with Bruce and Valkyrie close behind. "Of course, brother. Did you expect anything less?" Thor laughed and grabbed Loki's shoulder, with that classic joyful gleam in his eye. Loki smiled upon seeing the gleam.

 _Stars, it felt good to be back._

It really did though. To be back here with his brother, his friends, and the others…it almost felt like half the universe didn't disappear several days before. He realized that Thor still had his hand on his shoulder and that Thor still looked so relieved. Loki rolled his eyes at him. "Okay, enough. You act as if I was away for anything more than two days."

"Technically," Bruce started, "you all where gone for about four days here."

"Ah," Loki said nodding. "So there was a time difference. Interesting."

Apparently, Miss Foster had been close enough to hear Loki speak and started to reply to what he had said. "Yeah, it's really-" But she quickly stopped talking when she saw Thor. So, apparently the two exes managed to not realize that the other one was here until this very moment.

 _Oh, joy to the blessed world…this should be fun._

Thor stepped away from Loki towards the brunette scientist, looking completely and utterly shocked. "Jane?"

Miss Foster looked equally shocked as she nodded her head. "Hey."

"Yeah, uh, terribly sorry about that," Loki muttered to Thor. "I should have lead with this." He cleared his throat. "We found your ex." He knew he was pointing out the obvious but he wasn't sure what else to say.

Valkyrie's eyes widened. "His ex?"

"Yup." With that one word, Valkyrie started eyeing Miss Foster. Well, if nothing more than Valkyrie acting mildly jealous, then this would be worth whatever drama came next.

Bruce quickly came over to where Loki stood and whispered, "So she's Jane Foster then?"

"Yes."

"Wow," Bruce said blinking a few times. "With a girl that pretty, I can't believe Thor dumped her."

Valkyrie glared at Bruce out of the corner of her eye. "She's not _that_ pretty."

Miss Foster tore her gaze away from Thor and looked to Valkyrie. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Valkyrie bit her tongue.

Loki couldn't help but smirk. He turned to Bruce to answer his question. "I honestly have no clue why my brother and Miss Foster broke up. I mean, I'm sure there were plenty of reasons. For one, she likes to slap people for absolutely no reason."

Bruce squinted his eyes at him in confusion. "Alright, I'm going to need more details about that last part."

"About which part?" Quill called, getting involved in a conversation that did not include him. "The part where this lady," he pointed to Miss Foster, "bitch slapped him?"

Bruce was quiet for a couple of seconds, just staring at Quill. Then he finally said, "Okay, you are new."

"Yes," Loki started, "and I have decided that he is the most annoying man in all of existence."

Quill frowned and crossed his arms. "You know, you're just a big-"

"Quill!" Quill spun around at the sound of his name being called. So did the rest of the Guardians and they all saw Rocket Raccoon sprinting over to where they stood. He had never looked so happy. "And Drax! And Gamora! And all of ya!"

Groot's eyes perked up at the sight of the raccoon. "I am Groot?"

"Yeah, and don't you think for a minute that I forgot about you!" Then when Rocket finally reached where his team was and specifically Groot, he hug tackled the tree creature. Mantis and Drax both laughed after seeing the raccoon tackle Groot. It was quite comical actually.

Quill stepped over to where Rocket and Groot were hugging. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed us."

Rocket rolled his eyes like he was annoyed but he still looked far too happy. "Quill, you're an asshole, but yeah. I missed ya all." He glanced down at the grass and seemed slightly choked up. "You got no idea how glad I am to see you all alive." All of the Guardians smiled softly at their friend, happy to see him alive and well too. After a second or so, Rocket looked over at Loki with a grateful smile. "Hey, I owe you one."

"Well," Quill interrupted, before Loki could say anything. "It's not like he found us or anything."

"No?" Rocket said surprised.

"No," Quill said with a shrug.

Loki half nodded. "To be fair, he is correct. I didn't find them. They found and attacked me."

Rocket did a double take. "What?!" He turned and glared at the Guardians "Oh, you morons better not have given him a hard time. 'Cause if you did-"

"Quill did," Drax said, pointing at the rugged man.

Quill threw his hands in the air. "Dude! Incredibly not cool."

"But it was true," Mantis said.

"Guys! Stop ganging up on me!"

Rocket shook his head. "Man, Quill it would be just like you to give the guy who was tryin' to save you a hard time."

"What are you gonna do?" Peter asked from where he stood nearby.

Rocket crossed his arms. "I'm gonna be a captain and-"

Quill interrupted again with, "Except for the fact that _I_ am the captain. Okay? Is that not understood?"

"Really?" Loki questioned. "You the leader? I would have thought that dear Rocket was much better qualified to lead your Guardians."

"Exactly," Rocket agreed.

"Sure," Quill said irritated. "Team up with the sarcastic jerk."

"God of Mischief," Loki corrected. "It's not that hard of a concept."

Peter shook his head, half smiling. He muttered to himself, "Well, this is all very good. Everyone's reunited, I've seen my first talking animal, and-" He cut himself off when he noticed someone standing near where T'Challa and Shuri were still hugging, staring at him. "Mr. Stark?" Tony Stark never looked so relieved and so surprised in his life. He didn't say anything, he just started marching towards Peter. Peter took a few steps forwards as well. "Hey, Mr. Stark, it's so good to see-" Again Peter was cut off, but this time it was because Stark grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

It was a sweet little moment to see and Loki suddenly realized that the relationship between Peter and Stark was not that of mentor and mentee. It was much stronger than that.

Stark finally pulled away, wiping at his eyes, and then nonchalantly said, "Hey, kid. You alright? You all good?"

"Yeah," Peter said still a little shocked that what had happened had just happened. "Are…are you?"

Stark nodded. "Better now. Thanks for asking."

"Sure."

Stark took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Man…I can't believe I don't have heart attacks more often."

"Why?" Peter asked, genuine concern in his tone.

"Well, let's see." Stark crossed his arms. "There was all the stress of an alien invasion. Stress of life in general I guess. And then with you disappearing with your whole, "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good," line. Speaking of which, you are banned from ever saying that again. Kay?"

Peter nodded his head hurriedly. "Yeah, sure. Sorry about that. You know, disappearing."

"Don't apologize kid. You have nothing to be sorry for." Peter nodded again. "Anyways, and then you being here is…well, the best shock I've had in a while. God, it's like-like a weight has been lifted. You know?" Stark looked around the large group and managed to get everyone's attention who was not already looking at them. "Does anyone else feel like that? Like the deep depression that Thanos put on us when he did all of his crap, is just gone?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely," Quill said.

Stark saw the rugged man and stared at him for a while. "Quill," he greeted, semi-coldly.

"Stark."

Stark glanced around the group again, this time looking for someone in particular. He stopped looking when he saw Dr. Strange in his big cloak. "Strange," he said no less coldly.

"Tony."

Stark glance between the two men. "So, I don't know who to be more ticked off at. You," he pointed at Quill, "for screwing up our plan on Titan or you," he then pointed at Strange, "for giving Thanos the Time Stone when you said you wouldn't."

"What plan on Titan?" Gamora asked, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Quill brushed her off. "You know what, it's not important." When neither Stark nor Gamora stopped staring at him, Quill desperately tried to change the subject. "Hey, uh, Stark, this is Gamora."

Gamora rolled her eyes at her boyfriend but half waved at Stark. "Hi."

"Hi," Stark said back. "I'm Tony Stark and I knew your boyfriend for only about a couple of hours and all he did the whole time was complain, act like an idiot, and talk about you."

The green skinned woman shrugged. "Sounds like him."

There was a moment of silence amongst the group. Stark had gotten everyone's attentions, but now everyone had truly stopped talking and now they were ready to focus on whatever was going to be said next. But nobody said anything for a while, perhaps because they were just starting to realize how large their little group was. "Wow," Natasha mumbled. "Big group."

"Yeah, just a bit," Barton agreed.

Strange started to clear his throat. Every single person who had dealt with Strange for the last day turned towards him, knowing full well that he wanted them to move along. So it wasn't a surprise to them when he said, "Maybe we should go and discuss things."

Bruce nodded his head in his jittery way that he usually did. "Yes. We have a lot to discuss. We've come up with a new plan and now that everyone is back-"

"Almost everyone," Hope interrupted, still seeming sad. Scott rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her.

Steve stared at the couple sympathetically. "Look, Hope, I realize that you had hoped to see your parents back…"

She waved her hand at him. "Hey, it's fine. I'll get over it."

Steve nodded. "Then we go. I know we have a lot to say and I am sure you all do too."

Drax was staring at the dear Captain and muttered, "Whoa, he is a man like the pirate angel."

"What did he just say?" General Okoye asked, sounding completely confused.

Rocket chuckled, "Something borderline idiotic."

"Only borderline?" Rhodey mused.

Stark half smiled. "Yes, well, Quill and his Guardians of the Universe can be plucky like this."

Quill sucked in a breath. " _Galaxy_. Guardians of the Galaxy and we still don't know what plucky means but fine. Whatever."

Bruce turned to Loki again. "Why do I feel like we came in the middle of something?"

"Because you did," Loki told him.

"We should head to the city," T'Challa said, taking authority over the conversation.

For basically the entire time, Thor and Miss Foster continued to glance at the other one. It was like neither one of them could believe that their ex was here. Thor was understandable. How in star's name would he have known that Miss Foster was trapped in the Soul World? But what was Miss Foster's excuse? Maybe she still had feelings for him. Regardless, she finally looked away from him. "Yeah," she started, "I can't wait to look around and see all of the technology. And of course, compare it to what Asgard was like."

M'Baku had been leaning against his staff the entire time, mostly watching T'Challa, Shuri, and Ramonda reunite. But now he was looking at Miss Foster with a fascinated expression. He took a couple of steps towards her. "Well, if you would like I could show you around."

Miss Foster turned to M'Baku with an excited look. "I would love that. Thank you." M'Baku gave her slight nod. "Who are you?"

"I am M'Baku, leader of the Jabari tribe, the mountain tribe. And you?"

"Dr. Jane Foster." Bruce, Stark, Natasha, and Steve all turned to glance at Thor. They had heard many stories about the infamous scientist who had captured the strong, gruff hero's heart. Miss Foster seemed to notice the slight tension in the air. "Okay, um…should we go?"

"After you," M'Baku said with a grin and a motion of his hand towards the beautiful metal city. Miss Foster didn't hide her excitement or her curiosity for the wondrous city. And soon she and M'Baku were walking away, leaving the group behind.

Thor just stared after them for a minute. Then he turned around and asked, "What just happened?"

Loki shook his head. "You're asking me?"

Thor glanced back at the two people leaving together. "She seriously can't be… _interested_ in him. Right?"

Loki wasn't about to answer, because how the bloody hell should he know? He waited for someone else to ease Thor's sudden jealousy, but the Avengers and Guardians were both deathly silent. After about two minutes of no one saying anything, Loki rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine." Him saying something had to better then complete silence. "She's a woman of science, yes?"

Thor nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Then she is probably just eager to look around the tech filled city."

"Right." Thor nodded again. " _Right_."

"Besides," Loki continued, "with you two being broke up, you technically have no right to be jealous of who she takes an interest in anyways."

Thor half glared at him, several people snickered, and Hope blinked in disbelief. "You got to love his honesty," she muttered.

"Yup," Quill agreed. "Here we have the prime example of Mr. Green Jeans and his top notch sympathy skills."

"His name is Key-Low," Drax corrected. Then he pondered for a moment. "Or maybe it is…Mantis, what is the elegant man's name?"

" _Oh_." Stark said, suddenly getting it. "We're talking about Reindeer Games."

Loki glared at all three of them. What was it with these idiots and not being able to get his name right? "That's it. I'm killing one of them."

Before anything potentially hazardous could happen, Nebula stepped forward. "As fun and as entertaining as that would be, we really should be moving along before Dr. Strange gets all huffy."

"I agree," Scott said. "Wholeheartedly."

Then it was settled. The group started to migrate to the city. T'Challa, Shuri, their mother, and the General were in the front, leading the rest. The Guardians were close behind them, as were Wanda, Sam, and Rhodey. Barton walked with Natasha and his three kids, followed by Hope, Scott, Bucky, and the dear Captain. Peter, Strange, and Stark followed them. And then in the back was Loki, Thor, Nebula, Bruce, and Valkyrie. They walked through the yellowed grass field and soon the grass gave way to soft dirt and gravel roads that wound through street shops and tiny dwellings. This eventually gave way to the towering skyscrapers that made Wakanda stand out from other Midgardian places.

It was here that T'Challa turned to his mother. "Mother, would you take Agent Barton's children to Shuri's lab and make sure they are looked after?"

Ramonda looked over her shoulder at the three Barton children and smiled. "I shall. It's been awhile since I had the pleasure to look after such small, sweet things."

She stepped out of the group and motioned for them to follow her. Barton did not look thrilled about being separated from his kids so soon. "Well, um, okay but-"

"Don't worry, dad," his oldest told him, taking the youngest boy out of Barton's arms. "We're fine."

Before Barton could interject, Lila waved and said, "Bye!" Then she ran to join her brothers and Ramonda. Barton paused, staring after them as they left.

Natasha patted his back. "Don't worry about them."

"I'll try," he whispered.

"Good. Now, on to more pressing matters." The blonde ex-assassin walked to the back of the group and asked Loki, "Did I hear that Jane Foster hit you?"

"Yes, that is what you heard," Sam called. "And damn, I wish I had been there to see it."

Bucky chuckled. "It was kind of funny. You don't expect a Norse God to get slapped upside the face by a mortal human."

Loki scoffed at them. "Yes, fine. Have your little laugh."

"Why did she hit you exactly?" Thor asked.

Loki shrugged. "I was just there."

"Oh." Thor seemed to contemplate something before slightly smiling. "That's a great reason." Loki knew it was a joke but what could he say? He shoved Thor into Valkyrie.

"Hey!" Valkyrie shouted, obviously upset about being run into.

Thor shook his head and muttered, "I was only joking. Jeez, take a joke."

Nebula chuckled and turned to Loki. "Older siblings are so annoying. Am I right?"

Loki agreed. "Tell me about it."

The group continued through the city and they were heading for a tall silver building. As they walked up a series of stairs to get to the grand double doors, Stark asked Peter, "So, kid, tell me. What was the Soul World like?"

"Oh, yeah." That question was all Peter needed to go on a talking spree. "That place was huge. Like it went on forever. There were just lots and lots of trees. And this one tree that I got stuck in was like so tall that I could see how the woods just stretched on for-"

"Stuck in a tree?" Stark asked mildly concerned.

"Yeah. My suit went all crazy so Mr. Loki made it disappear in a flash of green. Anyways, then we were just walking around looking for people. And then we came across this great big monster thing!"

"Yeah!" Drax added. "It was terrible and monstrous. It surly would have eaten us had it not been for the elegant Key-Low."

"So, why exactly does he keep getting your name wrong?" Bruce asked Loki as they all finished entering the silver building. This building, much like the one that housed Shuri's lab and one that held the Asgardian refugees, was filled with sleek walls that had computer screens and intricate decorations hung on them. After going up a few ramps that were to replace the stairs, they headed down a long hall that was painted a crisp white.

Loki answered Bruce's question. "I have absolutely no idea. In his feeble mind I'm an elegant Key that is Low and Thor is a manly pirate angel." Bruce looked more confused than ever.

Thor half chuckled. "I can just about imagine your lack of patience with them, brother."

Quill scoffed at the statement. "You wanna talk about a lack of patience, he turned Drax into a frog."

"He did what?" Hope asked, sounding surprised.

Rocket turned to Loki. "Why couldn't ya have turned Quill into a frog?"

"Hey!" Quill exclaimed, obviously offended.

Loki smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I threatened to do as much."

The group entered the last room to left down the long hallway. The room of course had a large window facing the massive city. There was a large oval ebony table in the middle, with chairs shattered around it and in the corners of the room. Evidently, this was a room to hold meetings of sorts.

T'Challa took the seat at the head of the table closest to the door. Shuri sat next to him. The fierce General stood off to the right, closer to the window, so she could have a better vantage point. She was not losing her king again. Quill sat in a chair on the right side of the table and put his feet up on the table. T'Challa frowned at this, but it went unnoticed by the rugged man as Gamora sat next to him. Rocket stood off to the sidelines, Groot followed him. Drax and Mantis went to the left side of the window. Both of them were more fascinated with the view then the room. Wanda ended up sitting next to Gamora, Rhodey sat across from her, and Sam just sort of stood behind Wanda. Scott and Hope took the last two chairs on the right side of the table, which were close to where T'Challa sat. Steve, Bucky, Natasha, and Barton took the four empty chairs on the left side of the table. Stark stood behind them, Peter next to him. Strange quietly stood near the door with crossed arms. Valkyrie took a chair from the sidelines and sat in it near were General Okoye stood. Loki, Thor, Nebula, and Bruce stood directly in front of the window.

As everyone got themselves settled into their spots, Thor shook his head after hearing that Loki had threatened Quill. "I know besides the tree and the raccoon, I didn't talk with the Morons too much, but I doubt that any of them deserved to be threatened or turned into frogs."

Loki wasn't the only one to give him a questioning glance but he was the only one to ask, "Why did you just call them the Morons?"

"Isn't that their name?" Thor asked. There was nothing about his expression or his tone of voice that made it appear like he was joking.

Rocket was half laughing as he rubbed his forehead in a tired manner. "Okay, I can explain. I called the Guardians "The Morons" and I think Thor took that literally."

There was a pause and then Loki burst out laughing. "Oh, stars above. You really are a witless oaf." A few other people chuckled.

 _Only Thor could actually think the Guardians were called the Morons._

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Thor asked, trying to stay face. It didn't work.

"Ah, Stark just said their freakin' name wrong and Quill corrected him. That's how you are supposed to know," Rocket told him. Loki smiled as he continued chuckling. Oh, how he had missed the blunt little raccoon.

"I was too busy looking on after Jane," Thor explained.

"Your _ex_." Valkyrie snapped. "Let's be honest."

Loki finally stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "Oh, I am never forgetting that."

"And apparently Valkyrie will not be forgetting Thor staring after his ex," General Okoye added. Thor glanced at Valkyrie, but the woman was ignoring him.

"And why does M'Baku think that he can show this Jane Foster lady around?" Shuri exclaimed. "He doesn't even understand half of the technology I have powering the city. I'd bet less than half!"

"Did you hear what she said though?" Peter said. "She said she'd compare Wakanda to Asgard. You know, if Asgard and Wakanda were people I bet Asgard would be all like, "We are the most technological advanced place ever." And then Wakanda would be like, "Hold my beer.""

About everyone turned to the teen boy with a look of confusion, except for T'Challa and Stark who both put their heads in their hands. Because two seconds later, Shuri happily asked, "You like memes?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Who doesn't?"

Shuri's smile widened and she pointed at Peter. "You are officially my new best friend."

"Cool!" Peter said.

"Great," Stark muttered, rubbing his head. "Two pop culture, meme spewing teenagers."

T'Challa nodded in agreement. "How tiresome."

Shuri half glared at her brother and addressed Loki and Nebula. "Older siblings _are_ annoying."

Gamora snapped her fingers, pulling everyone's attentions to her. "Perhaps we should get onto the point."

"The point," Rocket started, "is they have a new plan on how to fight Thanos."

There was a slight murmur through the group that had just arrived and Loki personally felt a pang of panic. Saving those who were trapped was one thing, but to face the mad Titan again…

"So, no more search parties?" Scott asked, sounding relieved. "Good. That was exhausting."

Loki cleared his throat. "Are we sure that stopping the search parties is a good idea? There are still plenty of people to save."

Shuri nodded. "You're not wrong. But with all of the Avengers together we can focus on our plan."

Bruce took a step forward, ready to explain their new plan. "Right and-"

"Yeah," Stark interrupted. "Especially with Barnes and Noble back together again." He smiled slightly as he paced back and forth. "See what I did there?" Nobody answered. "Because Barnes, as in Bucky Barnes. And Noble, meaning the noble Captain America. So, Barnes and Noble." Both Bucky and Steve glanced at each not understanding. "You know, the book store." Again nobody answered. Stark threw his hands in the air. "Okay, you guys suck."

"What do we suck?" Drax questioned.

Stark glared at him, the Guardians and the people who had dealt with Drax for the last couple of days ignored him, but those who were just meeting the man just stared at him. Natasha shook her head. "Wow, he's not joking, is he?"

"Scary, isn't it?" Rhodey muttered.

"I believe," Strange said from his corner near the door. "Dr. Banner was about to talk about this new plan." It was odd. The Doctor who had seemed to know everything in the Soul World, had barely said a word since arriving.

Bruce nodded. "Right. Well-"

"One minute," Stark interrupted again. Bruce bit the inside of his cheek, annoyed. Stark addressed Strange. "I never got an answer."

"Answer to what?" Strange asked, with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Answer to why you gave Thanos the damn stone," Stark clarified.

Strange avoided making eye contact with Stark for several seconds. It wouldn't have surprised Loki if the Doctor didn't even answer Stark's question. But then quietly, Strange said, "I had my reasons."

Stark scoffed at that. "You care to share them?"

The search party and those who had been rescued all groaned. "What?" Natasha asked, confused be the immediate response.

"Well, Red, how do I put this?" Loki said. "Strange here doesn't like to explain anything. At all."

"Nope," Scott agreed.

"Pretty much covers it," Peter muttered.

"Not one bit," Mantis added.

"Yeah," Quill agreed as well, but then he turned to Loki. "And also, are you color blind? You called her "Red" and she clearly is blonde."

Natasha slightly smirked and then she started to explain. "It's a little joke. I used to be a red-head and he hates my blonde hair so thus calling me "Red" started."

Quill blinked a few times. "Well, uh, now I feel like an idiot."

" _Well_ , _uh_ , good," Loki said, mocking him.

"Look," Strange said. "I have my reasons for my actions and when the threat of Thanos is one hundred percent gone, I will be more than eager to explain everything."

"You don't mind if I act a little suspicious of you then?" Stark asked.

Strange shrugged. "Not at all."

"Wow, this guy is totally like you, brother," Thor said.

Loki spun to where Thor stood next to him. "What? No he's not."

"Sure he is."

"Just-how?"

Thor gave him an, isn't it obvious?, look. When Loki still looked expectedly for an explanation, Thor sighed and said, "You're both tall, thin magic-users with an annoying disposition. How are you not the same?"

Stark, Quill, and surprisingly Bucky all chuckled at Thor's statement. Loki just stared at his brother for a minute or so and then pointed to where Valkyrie sat. "Okay, stand over there, you're bothering me." Thor frowned, but did what Loki asked. Not that Valkyrie even paid any attention to Thor standing next to her. Thor was going to have a hell of a time getting out of the hole he had made for himself with her.

Bruce glanced around the room. "Can I talk now, or are we going to go on another tangent?"

The dear Captain nodded. "Go on Bruce."

"Thank you. So, Tony, Thor, and I were all talking about the Infinity Stones and how they work and whatnot. We all came to the conclusion that the best way to defeat Thanos and to save everyone trapped in the Soul World, is to make our own Gauntlet and steal the stones back."

Loki froze at those last four words. _"Steal the stones back."_ It was an interesting and original plan, but…there was no possible way they could actually succeed. Right? While everyone else was silent, thinking over what Bruce had said in their own heads, Loki stepped forward. "As wonderful of a plan as that is, there are a lot of problems with it."

"And let me guess," Rhodey started, "you're going to name off a few?"

Loki nodded. "First of all, what chance have we to succeed in stealing the stones away from Thanos? We couldn't even keep the stones safe and we already lost to him."

Scott timidly rose his hand. "Me, Hope, and Hawkeye haven't fought against him yet."

"And neither have I," Valkyrie said defiantly.

Loki rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "Oh, yes. I completely forgot about the hot head, the man with a bow and arrow and the two people who shrink. All hope is restored."

Drax turned to Mantis. "Well, that was easy to change his mind."

Loki was honestly contemplating on turning the dumb man into a frog again. Instead he settled for shouting, "Learn to understand sarcasm!"

"Yeah," Stark sighed tiredly. "I think that's gonna take a while. Look, Reindeer Games, I get where you're coming from. I do. But this is the only chance we have of getting all those billions and trillions of people that Thanos trapped back to their own homes." A few people nodded in agreement with what Stark said.

Seeing that he was not convincing anybody that this was a terrible plan, Loki glanced at Steve. "And you're fine with this then? You were the one who wanted to focus all your attention on the remaining people of Earth."

"How did you know that?" Natasha asked.

"I was listening in when you were all regrouping."

Shaking his head, Barton mumbled, "If that isn't suspicious I don't know what is."

"I thought you were trying to be civil," Wanda said giving him a hard glance.

"Sorry," Barton said, half raising his hands in surrender.

Bruce rubbed his eyes. "Alright look, Loki, I know it seems impossible-"

"Because it is impossible," Loki interrupted. "We lost! Or did everyone just forget that?"

"He's not wrong," Gamora said quietly. "Thanos was already the most powerful being in the entire universe and with the six Infinity Stones he is unstoppable."

 _Finally, someone who sees reason._

"So, what do we do?" Rocket asked. "Just sit on our asses and send five people at a time to the Soul World to keep huntin' for people?"

"No," Rhodey said shaking his head. "By the mere size of the Soul World, it could take months, hell, years to find everyone."

Hope glanced down at the glossy surface of the table. "Then we have to get them to their own world."

"And then Thanos is still out there to do it all over again," Nebula said, with a bit of an edge to her voice. She had lost Gamora once. She did not want to risk the possibility of losing her sister again.

Loki could see the silent agreement pass over everyone in the room. They didn't want to risk losing the people they had just gotten back again either. They were going to go through with the plan. And there was probably nothing he could do to stop them.

T'Challa glanced from person to person and saw that they agreed too. "As it would appear, most of us are in agreement that this is the course we must take to lead us to victory."

"As it would appear," Valkyrie muttered.

Steve looked up at Loki. "And to answer your question, yes, I am fine with this. I'll admit, I had basically lost all hope but with finding out about the Soul World, listening to these guys talk, and now with everyone back…" The dear Captain specifically glanced at Bucky. "I know that we can win this. Together."

While the others might find Steve's words comforting, Loki was just filled with horror. "We're not going to win," he said flat out. "We are going to get ourselves killed."

Steve stared him right in the eye and said, "Then we do that together too."

Loki laughed humorlessly. "You're all mad, you know that?"

Thor said, "Have a bit of faith, brother."

"Yeah!" Shuri said almost excitedly. "I mean, Thor got in contact with Eitri that giant dwarf and he is already starting to work on our own human sized gauntlet. Then I can add a few scientific touches and then boom! We're ready for the stones."

Why were none of them getting it? Yes, Thanos was still out there to wipe out half of the universe again, but… Maybe Loki was being naïve and selfish, but he had just got his friends back and made a few more along the way. Now he was going to risk being alone again? He just couldn't. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I do not think any of you understand the vast amount of power that the stones have. The stones have been around since the beginning of time and besides Thanos, there has not been a single being who has been strong enough to wield more than just one of them. And now you just expect that, and I don't mean this as an insult, a mere mortal is going to be able to wield all six?"

"Oh!" Peter exclaimed, having an idea. "Maybe we could like share the power. In like a chain or something."

Groot nodded. "I am Groot."

"Yes," Quill said, happy to add something to the group. "Exactly like how we did it on Xander. Drax, Rocket, Gamora, and I once were able to share the strength of one of the stones and you know, not die."

"Which stone?" Thor asked.

Quill had to think about it. "Ahh, the purple one."

"The Power Stone?" Loki asked, surprised.

Quill nodded. "Yup."

Loki just stared at Quill. "I don't believe it."

"Well, believe it Mr. Green Jeans 'cause it happened. My mother was from Earth, but my father was a great powerful Celestial. So, I am actually pretty damn powerful."

Loki continued to just stare at Quill. "Absolutely nothing I have seen has proven that."

Wanda muttered, "You wielded two of the stones."

"Beg pardon?" Loki asked, not hearing what the fair-haired girl had said.

Wanda started talking more clearly. "You just said there was no other being strong enough to wield two stones, but you did." Loki titled his head to the side. Wanda sighed. "You used the scepter which had the Mind Stone and then the Tesseract which had the Space Stone."

 _Well, son of a…she's right._

He had. He had wielded two of the Infinity Stones. How had he not put the pieces of that together? Well, now he had to reevaluate his own strength. Because it was extremely rare for a person to wield just one. And he had wielded two.

"Wait, I'm sorry," Gamora said, pulling Loki's attention back to the conversation. "When did he have access to two Infinity Stones?"

Before he could say anything, Sam answered, "When he was trying to take over Earth. That was back when the God was working for Thanos."

The second Sam finished saying his sentence, Loki froze. So did Thor, Bruce, Stark, Natasha, and Steve. Those five cautiously turned to look at Barton. Of course. Nobody had told Barton about Loki's former "allegiance" because if he had known he would have never agreed to go with the search party. Which meant that Scott and Hope didn't know either. And Loki never told the Guardians or Peter. But now they knew. Everything was coming to light. A terrible, horrible light.

No one spoke a single word for about a minute, but the air grew thick with an uneasy tension. Then Rocket, with wide eyes, mumbled, "Um…what did you just say?"

"When _he_ was working for _Thanos_?" Gamora asked.

Loki stared at the floor, but he felt a few stares directed at him. After the last two days of being in a content state of mind, the sudden rush of guilt was almost overwhelming. The situation could not get any worse.

And yet, it did.

Much, much worse.

Barton had sat in silence long enough. He slowly stood from his chair and looked at Sam. "I'm sorry, can you repeat what you just said? Slowly?"

Stark started his pacing again and shook his head. He sarcastically muttered, "Everyone fasten your seat belts for the upcoming drama."

Sam was starting to realize what a big mistake he had made. "Oh, you didn't, ah…"

When Sam trailed off and seemed like he wasn't going to say anything else, Quill spun on Loki. "You were working for that purple asshole?"

Loki didn't answer.

"Please say that that is not true," Hope said. She sounded like she wanted it not to be true.

 _If only it wasn't…_

He continued glaring at the floor, hating himself for the first time in two days. He shook his head. "If I said that it was not true, I would be lying."

Barton turned on his teammates. "Why wasn't I told this?"

Steve opened his mouth, but Natasha held her hand up to stop him. Then she softly told Barton, "It was silently agreed that we wouldn't tell you right away because we needed you to agree to go to the Soul World. You _needed_ to go and Loki was the only magic user we had."

"Dammit." Barton shook his head, growing angrier by the second. "Dammit, dammit!"

Steve stood up from his seat and took a steps towards the archer. "Clint, take a breath-"

"A breath? You want me to take a breath?" Steve stopped trying to calm him down. Perhaps he was thinking if Barton just blew off some steam he would cool down faster. The dear Captain had never been more wrong. "I knew it. _I just knew it_. I knew that I could not trust the homicidal whack-job and I was actually beginning to fall for it."

"Fall for what?" Bucky asked. "He's not working with the guy anymore."

Barton put his hands on his hips. "How do we know that? Hmm? What if he's going to betray us at the last moment?"

Nebula scoffed at him and did not hold back her feisty attitude. "Yeah, he's doing such a great job at betraying you. I mean, all he's done is fight for you and help save members of your stupid team. And you can't-"

Barton did not hide his sassy attitude either. "What? I can't what? Finish that sentence. Go ahead, finish it."

"Do not speak to her that way," Loki said in an even tone.

Barton humorlessly chuckled. "So righteous now. How long are you going to be playing both sides?"

Loki finally tore his gaze from the floor to meet Barton's furious glare. "I am not playing both sides. I want Thanos dead as much as you." Maybe if he just tried to explain. Told them to trust his rage… They would not look at him like he betrayed them.

But Barton wasn't having any of it. "I kind of find that hard to believe with you working for him and everything."

Loki had no clue what snapped, but something snapped inside of him. Before he knew it he was shouting, "Stars above, for the hundredth damn time, I was not working _for_ him! You do not get to judge me because newsflash Barton, you don't know me. You have no idea what happened to me…or…" He had to stop, he had to restrain himself. If he kept going, he would probably end up breaking down and then truly everything would come to light. And he could not deal with everyone knowing that. Not right now. So he just stopped talking.

But it was too late. He had let part of his vulnerability slip and Barton saw it. "You're afraid of him." That was a bloody understatement if he ever heard of one. Barton shook his head, his eyes filled with a judgmental gleam. "Now, it all makes sense why you would help us with dealing with Thanos. It's not because of heroism or because you suddenly were overpowered with remorse. It's because you're too damn of a coward to be confronted by the consequences of failing your precious master."

Thor apparently was not going to just stand there and let Loki take this sort of verbal abuse. "You do not know what you are talking about!"

"Really?" Barton asked. "I don't? Am I so crazy to think that Loki here is the most dishonest being in the entire universe and that he does not deserve this ridiculous and frankly, childlike praise that a lot of you have been giving him?"

Wanda stood up and tried to get control over the situation. "Okay, I think you made your point. Now, if you would just listen to reason-"

Barton shook his head. "No! Nope, not this time. I am not being talked into this again. No. Never. And, hey, look if you guys think I'm being unreasonable that's fine. I don't mind being all alone in thinking that _he_ ," Barton pointed directly at Loki, "deserved whatever punishment Thanos had planned for him."

"Clint!" Bruce exclaimed in shock.

Shock was a good word to describe Loki's feelings towards Barton's words. Barton could have stabbed him with a ten inch dagger, the pain would have been the same. It was one thing to think those things but, it was another altogether to actually hear those same thoughts come out of someone else's mouth. It was like confirming what Loki already sort of thought. And much to his dismay, everyone in the room became quiet. Nobody was arguing with what Barton had said. Did that mean that they believed with what he had said? That he deserved Thanos's promise of pain worse than death? The thought made tears sting in the back of his eyes and he had to glance away. It took every fiber of his being to pull himself together. "Well…" he said shaking his head. "I don't know why I am wasting my time here if you're all in agreement with what Agent Barton said."

Mantis whispered, "No."

Peter shook his head no as well. "Mr. Loki, that's not…"

Loki was already heading for the door. "Go get all of yourselves killed, I don't care. And even if I did, I'm apparently not supposed to."

"Where are you going?" Scott asked. Loki ignored him and his idiotic question.

Bucky called after him. "Man, come back."

He heard Thor start to follow him. "Brother, just wait. We can-"

Loki spun around and rounded on him. "Don't!" Thor started, obviously not expecting the outburst. "Just… _don't_. Leave me be for once." And then without waiting to see anyone's expressions, he left.

Stars, why was he so emotional? So weak? He supposed it was true what they said: The wounds of a lifetime could eventually stop bleeding and scar over, but all it took was one tap to open those old wounds back up.

As he walked down the hall, he realized three pairs of footsteps were following him. Nebula spoke first. "Loki…"

"I just want to be alone," he said in as monotone a voice as he could muster.

Wanda was next. He guessed her following him wasn't that surprising. "Loki, you can't take what Clint said to heart. He's upset and has a knack for being vengeful. And if he knew what we know, then-"

"Then what?" He spun around. Thor, Nebula, and Wanda were all there, with their sympathies. "Suddenly they would all forgive me and embrace me with open arms? No, I…I was a complete fool for-for even considering that anyone could…" He closed his eyes.

"Brother…" Thor sounded so worried. He hated it when Thor sounded worried. "You have to believe that there are people who care about you."

Rationally, Thor was correct. But Loki wasn't thinking rationally right now. "I noticed that nobody else is running on after me."

"Well, screw them!" Nebula yelled. He opened his eyes and saw her walk to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "That doesn't matter, they don't matter. We care. _I_ care. You know I do."

Of course he knew it. But he just… "I-I just need to be alone for a while. I need to…organize my thoughts." He softly glanced at the three and continued walking away from them.

He didn't see Thor trying to follow him or Nebula putting her arm up to stop him. But he heard the feisty blue girl say sadly, "Let him go."

…

Standing so near the door had its advantages. For one, once Loki had stormed out and Thor, Wanda, and Nebula had followed him, Dr. Stephen Strange was able to sneak to the door and motion for Peter to follow him without anyone else noticing. Then again, basically everyone in the room was starting to talk at once. Some thought Barton had gone too far, others were on the fence. In reality, their opinions didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting away from the drama and talking to the teenage superhero. "Hey, Doc. What's up?" Peter tried to say comically. The boy was clearly shocked by everything that had just gone down and he was just trying lighten the mood.

Stephen half smiled at the attempt. "Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot."

"If I told you where Loki was, would you mind going on after him and talking him into coming back?"

"Mind?" Peter said the word like it was ridiculous. "I don't mind at all. Mr. Loki is a friend and Mr. Barton had no right to say all those mean things to him. I'll go now, where is-?"

"Well, hang on." Stephen raised his hand to silence the boy. "He might not listen to you alone."

Peter nodded his head. "Yeah. You're right. Mr. Loki is a bit…hmm, what's the best word?"

"We haven't the time to think of the best word to describe the God of Mischief. Now, I think you should take along Shuri, Mantis, and Groot. You four should be able to talk to him and let him know that not everyone thinks the way Agent Barton does at the moment."

"Alright cool. And where is he?"

Stephen didn't pause to even think. "He is sitting in the garden that is closest to the big black building that houses Shuri's lab."

Peter gave him a curious look. "If you knew where he was, why didn't you go talk to him?"

It was a fair question, but all Stephen said was, "Because what _has_ to be said would be better coming from you four then me. Now, go get the others and go talk to him."

Peter nodded, with a new determined resolve. Stephen watched as he snuck back into the room and managed to get Shuri, Groot and Mantis without anyone's knowledge. But then again they were all focused on their "discussion" to pay attention to the small group leaving. Stephen made sure the four were going in the right direction and then he decided he would wait outside for them to return with Loki. He glanced into the room filled with superheroes. Most of those who had been sitting were now standing and the fight was starting to settle down.

Good, he thought. Now they can get onto the stuff that is actually important. Then he left the Avengers and the Guardians to their conversation.

…

While almost half of the large group had argued that Clint was in the wrong, there were some that were very quiet. The thought that any of them could actually believe that Loki was a traitor and deserved Thanos's wrath, made Bruce sick. In fact, the only reason he wasn't protesting with a passion was he had suddenly become overwhelmed with a heated feeling of rage that he hadn't felt in a while. A feeling that in the past usually lead to the other guy showing up.

But thankfully the feeling passed and the fight seemed to die down into petty squabbles. T'Challa summarized the entirety of the events that lead to this moment with, "Whether Agent Barton was in the right or not, this quickly turned into an utter disaster."

Valkyrie snorted, "Understatement. The lackey had it coming though."

Okoye glanced at her friend and asked, "Did you know about him working for Thanos?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "No. I didn't."

"Yeah," Quill said with a solemn shake of his head. "Neither did any of us."

The remaining Guardians all nodded that they too had no idea of Loki's former allegiance to the mad Titan. Rocket sat off to the side on the white glossy floor looking at a loss for words. "I just don't believe it…he seemed so…" His head suddenly popped up with a slight spark of hope in his beady little eyes. "There has got to be something we're missin' here. I mean, right?"

Tony rubbed his eyes with both of his hands in an exhausted matter. He shook his head sympathetically. "I wish it were like that, raccoon. I really do."

Bruce turned to his friend, looking slightly surprised at the comment but mostly he appeared resentful. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Steve glanced over at Tony and sighed. "It means that Tony isn't that trusting of Loki either."

Tony scoffed, "Wow, you know me so well."

Then it was Sam's turn to scoff. He crossed his arms and said, "Uh, I'm sorry, aren't you the guy who trusted the God to assemble us when this crap first started?"

Tony started his normal pacing around the room again, although this time he was doing it in a less energetic manner. "There was not much I could do in that situation," he explained. "Strange and Peter had been beamed up onto the ship, I was losing valuable time. I just needed to make sure somebody, anybody, got to you guys and told you what was happening…" He paused both in his speaking and in his pacing and looked directly into Bruce's eyes. "Bruce, I like the guy too. I do. But," he shook his head obviously upset with himself, "God help me, every time I see him I can't help but see the guy who threw me out of a window on the top floor of Avengers Tower."

"Not to mention what happened to Coulson," Clint added. The founding members of the Avengers, all sighed at the mention of their fallen friend.

"Who is Coulson?" the muscular man with red designs on his body asked. Bruce thought he heard his name was Drax or something like that.

Steve sighed as he walked to the window. He stood in the same place Loki had. "Coulson was a friend and ally."

Clint shook his head disgusted. "Yeah, and Loki stabbed him through the chest with that scepter of his."

Bucky Barnes seemed like he had something on his mind. He seemed like he something he wanted to say. "You know," he started after a while, but then he stopped.

"What?" Clint finally asked.

Bucky hesitated for a moment but then he shook his head. "No…it's not my place to say."

Since Bucky didn't seem too keen on saying whatever was on his mind and no one else felt like arguing anymore, the group just seemed to move onto the next thing. "So, what do we do now?" Hope asked, sounding more tired than she had previously.

Steve paused, but soon he was back to being the leader of the group. "Um, continue with the plan. We'll need Thor, Wanda, and Strange to help."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "And where the heck did Peter go?"

"He, the Princess, the tree creature, and the petite woman all left while you were talking," Okoye told them.

Natasha nodded. "Well, we should go find them and then-"

Bruce couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait a minute! Is that it? Are we just done talking about Loki?"

"What else is there to say?" Clint asked indifferently. "Let the bastard sulk somewhere alone."

That heated rage was starting to rise up in him again, but this time Bruce didn't try to push it down. He felt obligated to defend Loki, after all he was his friend. "You know, Barton, you are really starting to get on my last nerve."

Clint crossed his arms. "Banner, he manipulated you just as much as me. How you can even deal with him is beyond me. And I am not in the wrong here."

"Yes, you are," Bruce said through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

Clint's stupid question got under Bruce's skin more than it should have. He didn't need to look into a mirror to know that his temples had slightly turned a shade of green. He could feel the other guy wanting to come out and break Clint's jaw. He shouted, "Because you are making accusations without all of the facts!"

And then there were confused murmurs of the people who didn't know him and the concerned murmurs of those who did. "Oh dear," Tony said, stopping his pacing.

"He can turn green?" Drax asked. "That is pretty awesome."

Rhodey shook his head. "Nope, not awesome. Bruce just calm down, okay, man?"

"Bruce," Natasha said in an easy tone. Bruce turned to the blonde ex-assassin. She approached him like he was some wild dog. "Hey, look at me. Hey, it's alright." She reached for him and grabbed his shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "It's alright."

He wanted to take something from the calm and softness of her words, but he couldn't. Not right now. "No," he said quickly shaking his head, "it's not." Bruce pointed accusingly at Clint. "He keeps saying these horrible things about Loki when he doesn't know what really happened."

He felt Natasha's grip grow slightly tighter but that quickly went unnoticed as another murmur spread throughout the room. "What really happened?" T'Challa asked, slowly repeating what Bruce had said.

Tony asked his friend, "You've been holding out on us, pal?"

Bruce nodded his head rapidly. The remaining group eyed him, obviously wanting to know what he knew. That made him irritated too. "You know, what I learned, I learned in confidence and it is not my secret to tell." He spun back towards Clint sending him a slightly green-eyed death glare. "But if it will knock your hypercritical ass off of your high horse then it will totally be worth it." Bruce closed his eyes, realizing that he was getting too worked up again. He could hardly put the archer in his place if he Hulked out. Then again, if he did change into the Hulk he had a feeling that Clint would be on the receiving end of the rage.

And _that_ certainly would have put him in his place.

He opened his eyes while letting out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He felt calm. He felt fine. He glanced around at the people scattered throughout the room and began to tell them what he knew. "When I first saw Loki again after all these years I noticed a difference right away. I chopped it off to be a change of character or at the very least a newfound sense of being able to be partnered with Thor. But…but now I know what it was that I saw."

"What was it?" T'Challa asked.

"His eyes," Bruce answered. "You've all seen them, bright and shinning emerald green."

Okoye frowned unimpressed. "Yes, the Princess has made comments about them many times. I found it unhelpful then and I find it unhelpful now."

Tony half smiled. "I believe what the killer warrior queen is trying to so poetically say is, what's your point?"

Bruce looked at his fellow founding Avengers. "When you guys brought him aboard the Helicarrier, during the battle in New York, and when Thor dragged him back home…they were blue."

Silence.

Then Natasha sputtered, "W-wait, say-say that again."

"You heard me." Bruce said it a bit gruffer then he meant to. "His eyes were ice blue."

Tony with wide eyes sat down in the chair that Steve had been sitting in before. "Oh, boy."

Natasha was thinking, wrapping her head around what Bruce had said. Then her head suddenly popped up. "Son of a bitch," she said in realization. "Bruce is right. I saw them. I was literally only a foot away from him when I was integrating him."

Tony glanced at Steve. "You think…?"

Steve was clearly troubled by this new information and he hesitantly nodded his head. "It certainly explains his extreme change of heart and what Wanda said on the Quinjet. After she went inside his head for only eight seconds she trusted him."

And Clint…the man not only froze but he seemed to lose some of his color. Because he knew what Loki having blue eyes meant. He whispered, "Oh, shit."

"Yeah," Bruce snapped, not caring how smug he sounded. "So, next time you want to declare that a man deserves God knows what kind of punishment, maybe you should have all of the damn facts first."

Everyone was quiet, but then Sam cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just being slow, 'cause I can be known for that, but I think I'm missing the point."

"Yeah, me too," Scott said.

Quill let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I missed it too, but I didn't want to say something and have everyone think I was stupid or anything."

Bruce quick glanced around the room and saw that basically everyone who hadn't been involved with the 2012 incident looked clueless. Bruce gave them an explanation. "Loki used the Mind Stone to take control of Clint's mind when he attacked Earth. When he did this, Clint's eyes turned blue."

Again there was silence. But this time everyone got the point.

Hope blinked her eyes a few times and shook her head. "Are you saying…he was brainwashed into doing the attack?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Bruce answered.

"Oh boy," Tony repeated. The man who was so well known for always having something funny to say seemed completely void of words. Then again, Bruce did kind of spring this all on them. Well, he had been frustrated and tired of no one else standing up for Loki. Tony finally found his voice. "It all makes sense. Thanos gave him his army and the scepter. If Thanos already had the scepter it's not that big of a leap that… he…and it does explain why Loki seems so different now."

The green skinned woman, Gamora, closed her eyes and muttered, "The Asgardian." Everyone turned to her. Her boyfriend gave her a questioning glance. She walked to the window and looked out at the view of the city below. She was quiet for several long seconds before she told them her story. "I don't who knows this already and who doesn't, but Nebula and I are the adopted daughters of Thanos." No, not a lot of the people in the room knew this. "Living with him was worse than a nightmare." She paused to swallow down her memories and continued on. "Before now, he used to use pawns to gain the Infinity Stones. Sometimes they were willing pawns…sometimes not… I just knew that this Loki guy looked familiar but, I wouldn't have guessed it was when I was in the Black Order." She scoffed, "Their way of convincing a person to change their attitude was…how do I say it? Vicious and painful."

The so called Guardians stared at their teammate in shock. No doubt, they knew about Gamora's past but they surely seemed surprised by all of these details. "Oh, God," the raccoon started slowly, "Gamora please tell me you didn't-"

"No," Gamora said quickly. "No, I was busy with other things. I just caught glimpses of him." She continued to stare coolly out of the window, fully aware that everyone else was staring at her. Then she added, almost as an afterthought, "It would also make sense why Nebula would know him so well. She always did like to go and talk with the prisoners."

"Prisoners?" Valkyrie practically shouted. " _Prisoners?_ "

Bruce liked the strong, female warrior but in that moment he despised her cluelessness. "Well, what did you think?" he yelled. "He was just there out of his own free will?"

Natasha was trying to calm him down again. "Bruce, it's alright. Just stay calm." He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. While the Guardians were still in shock over what Gamora had said and the founding Avengers were deathly quiet, the rest of the group gave each other glances. It was obvious that they were rethinking absolutely everything that had to do with Loki.

Rhodey just kept shaking his head. "Damn. I just…damn."

"Does anyone else feel really bad for doubting Loki?" Scott asked, softly raising his hand in the air.

"Uh, that would be a big fat yes," Hope snapped, but as soon as she had snapped she restrained her frustration. "I can't believe I just stood here. He was so nice and…understanding before when I was talking about my parents. And yet I didn't say anything."

Drax was the first to look away from Gamora. He had an almost wise look in his eye for the first time. "None of us did. We let our rage for Thanos cloud our judgment."

Tony scoffed, "That's the first time I think you've ever said something that wasn't completely crazy."

Valkyrie spun on him. "Jokes, really? Now?"

Tony nodded, internally kicking himself. "Yeah, you're right. Not cool."

Sam appeared very startled by the news of what had really happened with Loki but he also seemed slightly guilty. After all, he inadvertently was the cause of this whole mess. But then he caught a glimpse of Bucky who didn't look shocked at all. He got his attention. "You don't seem that surprised."

Bucky looked up at Sam and blinked a few times. He let out a deep breath. "You knew," T'Challa observed.

Bucky sadly nodded his head. "Yeah. I knew. Not the extent of it but…"

"When?" Steve asked, completely taken aback by this.

"Before the battle," Bucky said sitting back down in his seat. "We got talking and my time in Hydra came up. I couldn't explain what it was like, to not have control over my actions, to finally wake up. But he could. The whole damn ordeal is not something you can talk about with such understanding and emotion unless it has happened to you. So, I put the pieces together."

"A little heads up would've been nice," Rhodey muttered.

Bucky shook his head. "There wasn't time. With the battle and then vanishing or…whatever. And as I said before, it was not my secret to tell." The metal-armed man glanced at Bruce with a sort of understanding. They both had known Loki's secret but hadn't told anyone because they both had believed it was no one else's damn business.

Natasha was chewing the inside of her cheek. "He's right. And we should have…oh, I'm such an idiot! Why did I not see it?"

"No one saw it. _No one_ did," Okoye said calmly. "You have no reason to feel guilty."

"I don't?!" Natasha said getting mad. "I'm an ex-spy and assassin who understands lies and manipulation better than any of you. And yet, I didn't accept the facts I saw."

Steve rubbed his head and said in an almost remorseful voice, "It wasn't just you. Earth's mightiest heroes…and we don't have any sense of perceptiveness to us at all."

Gamora had finally turned away from the window. "You are all being a little hard on yourselves."

Quill nodded in agreement with what his girlfriend had said. "Yeah. I mean, it was Mr. Bow and Arrow over here," he pointed at Clint, "who jumped on Loki's case."

"No," Rocket said sternly. He stood up and slowly walked around the room. "What Drax and the Wasp lady said is true. None of us really stood up for Loki. Whether we were afraid to be prosecuted like him or we got swept away with what we thought was betrayal, we _let_ Barton chew the guy out. And I don't know about you, but I hope that Loki can forgive me for just standing here like a jackass. 'Cause that was a really shitty thing to do."

"Well put," T'Challa said with a sigh. The young king took authority over the situation again. "We still have many things we must do with Thanos and the Infinity Stones but I think if the moment arrives, we should try to make things right with Loki. He has to know we think very highly of him and that we are sorry."

"I agree with everything the king said," Scott said, raising his hand in the air again. Bruce glared at the man. Was Loki so sure that Quill was the most annoying man in existence? Scott Lang seemed pretty damned annoying.

Valkyrie suddenly stood up from her chair. "Where are you going?" Okoye asked.

"I gotta see where Thor is. See if he's found the lackey… _Loki._ " Then she left the room. And the Avengers and the Guardians were left with their thoughts of how they had mishandled so many things with the trickster god who was merely a victim of circumstance.

Bruce tiredly rubbed his eyes. He just hoped that the poor guy wasn't alone somewhere.

…

Loki sat alone in the beautiful Wakandan gardens. He sat in the grass among tiny yellow and red flowers that almost looked like violets. He curled his legs to his chest and just sat there feeling sorry for himself. His inconsistent nature had come back full force. He didn't want to believe that everyone thought what Barton had viciously spat at him and yet he would have been shocked to find out if someone besides Thor, Wanda, or Nebula still cared about him.

Stars, how he hated being able to be broken so easily. And he hated how easily his self-confidence could be snatched away from him. It was like the universe hated him. He had recused his friends and he could finally start to heal from the years of feeling less than Thor's equal, but now here he was again, alone.

He always seemed to end up alone.

He suddenly heard footsteps approach him. Despite the way he was feeling, he rolled his eyes. Why did Thor never listen to him? "Go away Thor."

"It's not Thor, Mr. Loki." Loki looked over his shoulder and saw Peter, Shuri, Mantis, and Groot all coming towards him. "It's just us."

 _Well, this is a bit of a surprise, isn't it?_

He watched as they all walked around him and stopped in front of him. "Oh…what are you all doing here?"

Mantis happily said, "Dr. Strange told Peter where you were and sent us to talk with you."

Loki should have known. "Why am I not surprised that the dear Doctor would know where I was?" He took a deep breath. "Look, I realize that you all are just trying to help, but-"

Shuri shook her head. "Nope."

Loki tried again. "I was just going to-"

"No."

"…I-"

"Not today, sir."

Loki halfheartedly glared at the genius girl. "There is a reason T'Challa finds you tiresome."

She shrugged indifferently. "The point is, you're not driving us away. We're staying until you come back." And as if to prove her point, she sat down right next to him.

He glanced at the girl now sitting to his right. "I suppose there is no point telling you that I'm not going back, correct?"

"I am Groot," Groot said as he sat down a few feet in front of him.

He sighed. "I'll assume that's a yes."

Mantis ended up sitting on Loki's other side and Peter sat next to Groot. Peter spread out on the grass and looked all around the garden. "So, this is a really nice garden." He pointed up in the air. "Does this glass dome thing run on some sort of electricity or…?"

"Vibranium," Shuri answered. "It runs all of my tech, it is what we make the buildings out of, and, my personal favorite, it is woven into our clothes to provide us all with durability."

Peter raised his eyebrows. Impressed. "Wow…that's impressive."

"Yes, it is," Mantis said softly. "And I have never even heard of this vibranium."

"Well," Shuri said crossing her arms, "it's very rare."

Groot asked, "I am Groot? I am Groot?"

Mantis acted as his translator. "He wants to know how rare it is. And also he thought we were here to talk to Loki not about metal."

"Let's not talk about me," Loki muttered.

Peter looked like he didn't want to push on the matter but he did say, "That is technically why Dr. Strange sent us. And why we agreed to come here." He stopped to think of the best words to say. He decided on, "You know, Mr. Loki, what Mr. Barton said does not reflect what we all believe."

"Yeah!" Shuri agreed, sounding very passionate about it. "Agent or not, he was a jerk to say all that stuff to you."

Groot nodded his head. "I am Groot."

"Groot and I agree," Mantis said.

Loki wished that it had been anyone else who had come to talk to him, then it would have been so much easier to lie and tell them he wanted them to go away. But, he couldn't force himself to lie to them. So instead he shook his head. "No…I…I think Barton had every right to be mad. No amount of good deeds can alter what happened." He suddenly scoffed at himself and bitterly said, "I can't believe it. After the last couple of days and the talk with Thor… I actually started to think I could be anything more than a hated monster. I can't believe I started to think that." He clenched his fists. "Bloody idiot."

"No," Shuri said quietly. "Don't think that way."

And then Mantis reached over and grabbed his hand. The tips of her antenna glowed white and she suddenly started to tear up. Loki stared at the girl as she looked up at him with wide watery eyes. She started to ask, "Why…Why do you feel so guilty for something that was not your fault?"

Could she really feel _everything_? Apparently she could.

"What?" Peter asked, completely lost.

"All these emotions…" Mantis said getting closer to actually crying. "Thanos got in his head. Forced him to attack this planet."

Shuri's jaw dropped. "Oh my…"

Peter's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He spun to Loki. "Did that really happen?" Loki figured that there was no use hiding the truth since Mantis already knew it. He nodded. Peter exclaimed, "Well, then yeah! It wasn't your fault! It was that stupid purple grape's fault! Why don't you tell the others and then they'll know you're not to blame for-"

"No," Loki whispered.

"What? But Mr. Loki-"

" _No_ ," he said more sternly. He looked at the four sitting around him. "You don't understand. You don't know what it was like. Telling Thor was one thing…he's my brother. But telling everyone else would be sharing the worst moment of my life. Everyone will say they understand, they won't though. How could they? I don't need everyone judging me."

Shuri patted his arm. "Why would they judge you? And even if some people do, who cares?"

" _I_ do," Loki said, as his voice started to waver.

"I am Groot."

Mantis wiped at her eyes. "He said that none of us will judge you."

"That's right," Peter said.

Loki swallowed and was hesitant to accept their acceptance. "I don't deserve any of this."

Shuri got mad at him. "Oh, shut up! Yes you do."

And then suddenly all of the doubt, the incontinence thoughts, the self-hate, and the guilt seemed to melt together into a softer and more content feeling. He was in a state of calmness and he didn't understand how or why-Mantis. He glanced back at the girl and saw that her antenna were still glowing and her eyes were shut. She had made the calm and content feeling wash over him. "How did you-?"

"I thought it would help," she said opening her eyes.

Loki felt like he could breathe again, like the pressure and pain was no longer suffocating him again. Who knew how long it would last but at least it was gone for now. He half smiled at Mantis. "Thank you." Mantis smiled and nodded. He glanced around at the other three. "All of you. You have no idea how much your caring means to me." They all nodded, happy that they could help. He nodded to himself and took another breath. Well, Barton might hate him and some of the others might think they couldn't trust him, but it didn't matter. He was in too deep now. He cared too much about these damned idiots and he wasn't about to sit ideally by and watch them die. He sighed, "I suppose I should stop sulking."

…

Dr. Stephen Strange was accustomed to being put under difficult and stressful situations. After years of being a doctor he thought there was no case too tricky for him to handle. After learning the power of the mystic arts and facing Dormamu he thought there was no threat he couldn't confront head-on. But now he had something new to overcome: lying to basically everyone for the greater good of the entire universe.

Shortly after he had sent Peter and the other three to talk with Loki, he had stepped outside to get some air, and to try and not think about the horrors that were to come. He sat with his legs crossed on the steps outside of the silver building and it wasn't long till his cloak had him floating about a foot off the ground. Presently, he was trying to meditate. But that day on Titan he had done something similar to look forward into the future.

Fourteen million six hundred and five possible outcomes…and out of all of that, they only won _one_.

They were currently on the path of the one but every now and again, he would have to give someone a little push to keep them on track. One false action and everything would crumble. He would love to tell everyone what was going on, but in outcome number thirty-two thousand one hundred and sixteen he did and _that_ affected everything. It was like everyone did the opposite of what they were supposed to do. So, lying and being secretive it was.

Everything would work out in the end.

It _had_ to.

He got the necessary people needed to defeat Thanos out of the Soul World. He helped put the idea of learning magic in Wanda's head. He stayed out of the conversations because he knew he was biased as to what they should do. And most importantly, he sent the four to talk with Loki. If he was to be honest with himself, Loki was the one he was the most worried about. If the trickster god didn't follow what happened in the one outcome, then everything would fall into a bloody mess.

Because Loki was the key.

He was the key to Thanos's defeat.

"Hey! He's flying!" Shuri shouted. Steven opened his eyes and saw Shuri, Peter, Groot, Mantis, and Loki all heading up the stairs. He half smiled and his cloak set him back down on the first step.

Peter told Shuri, "Yeah, isn't it cool?"

Stephen stood up and waited for them to all reach where he was. The three kids and Mantis all walked past him giving him a brief nod. And then came Loki, who looked like a mix between unsure and calm. Steven nodded to him. "Good to see you come back."

"I understand you sent them to bring me back," Loki said bluntly. Well, so much for small talk. "Look, I don't know what it is you are trying to do but-"

Stephen raised his hand to quiet him. "Believe me, Loki, I am just trying to ensure our success against Thanos. I know you can be a valuable ally."

Loki blinked at him in surprise. Stephen barely knew the man but he felt for him. Nobody deserved to feel so insecure all the time. "Okay," Loki finally said. "Fine." He paused for two seconds and then he pulled on his standby mask of being the "God of Mischief". "It was very clever of you to send those four. I probably would have been able to send anyone else away."

Stephen half chuckled, "Well, that's why I sent them, because I knew you wouldn't." Loki gave him another one of his suspicious looks and then went to enter the building. Stephen's half smile disappeared. He was cursed with knowledge. Knowledge of what would happen within the next few days. Knowledge of what would happen to Loki.

And he didn't like thinking about it.

…

Valkyrie had found Thor with Wanda and Nebula and convinced them to go back to the room. Thor now just sat staring at the floor, looking at a lost. Valkyrie tried to be soft and gentle but that was not in her nature. The best she could come up with was, "Do you know where he went?"

Thor shook his head. "No. He wanted space, so I gave him some." Valkyrie nodded. Thor half glared at Barton, feeling the urge to do something that heroes didn't do. So, he repressed the urge and continued staring at the floor.

The large group was trying to plan out their strategy for stealing the stones. Bucky finally said, "If we are to start planning all of this stealing the stones back plan, then maybe we should look for Strange, the Mantis girl, and the kids."

"You don't have to look for us," Strange announced as he entered the room. Behind him were the other four who had left and Loki.

Thor stood up from his chair, relieved to see his brother. Actually everyone in the room seemed relieved to see him back. "You're back," he said.

Loki nodded but didn't make eye contact with anyone in the room. He just walked around to the far end of the table and sat down. He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, "Yeah, well, uh, someone has to make sure you idiots don't get yourselves killed. Not that I care, mind you." Thor glared at Barton again. It had taken so much effort to get Loki to believe that he could be accepted and now it was like starting all over again. "So, we are to steal the Infinity Stones and make our own Gauntlet?" Loki glanced up and saw several people nodding. He sighed, "Brilliant. When do we start?"

"Right now," Steve said.

"Great." When no one said anything for a while, Loki looked again and saw basically everyone staring at him with concerned looks. And those who weren't staring at him were avoiding eye contact. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Stark shook his head. "Nothing." He glanced at T'Challa and then Steve and then looked back at Loki. "Just…Look, Reindeer Games, uh, Loki…we just wanted to say-"

Suddenly a loud beeping sound filled the room.

"What is that?" Hope asked.

Shuri hurried over to a screen connected to the wall. "It means that someone is trying to contact us."

"What? Like how I contacted you?" Valkyrie asked, slouching over in her chair.

Shuri nodded. "Exactly so." She pressed a few keys on the screen and then the beeping stopped.

And a sound of old radio static along with a female voice called over Shuri's computer screen. "Hello?" the voice said.

"Hello?" Shuri said back.

"I can just about hear you," the voice said, sounding like it was about to break out. "Try tuning your receiver to a higher frequency."

Shuri scrunched up her eyebrows. "My _receiver_? Lady, this tech is much more advanced than some 1990s radio receiver."

T'Challa sighed, tiredly, " _Shuri_."

"What?" the girl asked with raised hands. "I'm just saying that-"

Natasha interrupted her and pointed at the screen. "Look." A new little box popped up on the screen next to the information about the radio message.

"A video feed?" the General asked.

"It's called face time," Scott said. Nobody had to tell him to shut up because basically everyone sent him a glare. He awkwardly tried to ignore them.

Shuri ran her fingers over the screen and connected to the link. A static and fuzzy video came up on the entire screen. The video connection was so bad however, that no one could really make out the background. Just the blonde woman in the foreground, but even she was fuzzy. "Wow, lady, you got to upgrade your tech," Shuri mused.

"Well, at least we can actually see each other now," the woman said. Her hair was short, but not too short and it was a natural yellow blonde hue, unlike Natasha's artificial platinum blonde look. From what the group could see, she was wearing some sort of battle suit. A red, white, and blue battle suit.

Rocket muttered, "Yeah. Swell. And who the hell are you?"

The woman sighed and said, "My name is Captain Carol Danvers. You can call me Captain Marvel."

Stark instantly looked her up on his phone. "You're a former U.S. Air Force pilot?"

Captain Danvers nodded. "For a time, yes. Look, it's hard to explain but I recently got a message that Earth was in distress and so I am coming to help in any way I can."

"Who sent the message?" Wanda asked.

"Nick Fury." Her reply made the Avengers and Loki all glance around at each other with somewhat surprised looks on their faces. But then again, why wouldn't Nick Fury have connections with some random lady dressed oddly like the dear Captain?

The rest of the group who didn't know Fury, mostly the Guardians, just stared on in confusion until Gamora asked, "Who's Nick Fury?"

Barton was first to answer. "He used to be the head of S.H.E.I.L.D. the organization Nat and I used to work for."

"Yeah," Bruce started, "and he brought us together to fight…well…" He trailed off and glanced sheepishly towards Loki.

"It's fine," Loki reassured him.

"Fury's an okay guy but he's got to be the biggest jerk I've ever met," Stark said. "And I've met a lot of jerks."

"Why was he the biggest?" Mantis asked softly.

Stark thought about for a second before answering. "Let's just say that I'm not a fan of secrets. And Fury's secrets had secrets."

Thor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but Fury also had this really nice long leather coat and an eye patch, so…"

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "Fan of his eye patch now, brother?"

Thor never got to answer because Captain Danvers interrupted by saying, "You said he gathered you?"

Bruce nodded. "Yeah."

The young female Captain had her mouth open. She appeared to be startled and then she murmured to herself, "The Avengers."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest and took one step forward. "You've heard about us?"

"No. But I knew Nick." She smiled to herself in fond remembrance. "I remember his risky, outlandish plan." She was silent for several seconds before turning her attention back to the group. "I am just on the edge of your galaxy. I should be to Earth within two days."

Quill glanced around at everyone in the room. "Ah…You know, not that I'm not thrilled to have help, but how do we know you're with us? We like literally met you two minutes ago. We don't know a single thing about you."

Captain Danvers hardened her gaze. It was a gaze filled with control and commandment. She softly but sternly said, "There's no time to go through my credentials and even if I did, there is no telling if you would actually trust me or not. You know nothing about me. You're right. But I also know nothing about you. I trust Nick Fury's judgment though, and I made a vow a long time ago to protect my home planet if ever the time arose. I think the time has arisen, don't you?"

Well, Loki liked her.

The rest of the group was unnaturally quiet. Stark and the dear Captain both shared a glance and nodded their heads. It would appear that the Avengers had a new ally on the way. With no more vocal protest, Captain Danvers gave them all a small nod. "Good. It's settled then. I will be there within two days. I'll be in touch so keep this wave length open. Captain's orders." She reached off to the side and then the video was disconnected.

Stark shook his head impressed. "Wow. She was like a female version of you Cap."

Steve half smirked. "Funny, Tony."

"What were we talking about before the Captain lady interrupted?" Peter asked.

Stark snapped his fingers, remembering. "Right. I was about to say-"

Anything else that Stark began to say, Loki didn't hear because all he could notice was Peter suddenly freeze up. It took Loki a moment to realize that Peter suddenly freezing up meant that the boy's spider-sense or whatever it was, was going off. And that meant there was trouble. Peter looked to the window, Loki followed his gaze.

And then years of training took over. Loki quick turned back to the group and sent out a green shimmering shield that threw everyone to the ground. Then he jumped from his chair and ran for cover himself just as an explosion rocked the building.

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 _Author's Note Again: So… I'm just going to let all of that sink in._

…

 _Okay. Now, let's talk about it. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?_

 _I had to have Steve and Tony confront their issues and talk about Howard's note. Besides, those two are my favorite original Avengers and I just had to do something quiet with them. And Pepper's alive! Yay!_

 _Another series of rollercoaster events with everyone standing around in a room talking. Hopefully I kept everyone in character. And hopefully you are not tired of people just standing around talking. Also there was a lot of humor. What was your favorite funny moment?_

 _Bruce turning a little green at Clint. Thoughts? Bruce telling everyone what really happened to Loki and everyone's reactions. Any more thoughts? (I love timid Bruce acting all gruff.)_

 _I just knew that the only people who could convince Loki to come back were Peter, Shuri, Mantis, and Groot. Love those four with our favorite God of Mischief._

 _Strange knows exactly what to do to keep them on the one timeline for victory. And of course I was going to have Loki be the key! Why wouldn't I?_

 _And of course the big thing: Captain Marvel is coming!_

 _Not right away obviously, first we have to see what is up with this explosion at the end. But she is coming. And boy do I hope I can do her justice._

 _I'm not making any promises about when the next chapter is going to be up. I see no point. Just know, that I am not stopping this story._

 _Also: I AM NOT SHIPPING LOKI AND NEBULA TOGETHER! I have gotten so many reviews telling me not to ship them together. I'm not. They are platonic friends that I sometimes write in a teasing and borderline flirting way. Do I ship these two? Yes. Am I putting it in this story? No. They are staying friends. JUST FRIENDS._

 _Okay…now that all of that is done, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you again to all of my readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers. You make writing the treat it is! Also Happy Halloween! Thank you for the support, again! Have a good rest of your day._


	17. Hello Again

Hello again.

So, I had something on my mind that I did not want to wait for the next chapter to tell you. Okay, so, when I started thinking of this story way back in May, I had originally thought about having Loki and Nebula get together by the end. (Because I do ship them together, you know?) But then I settled on them being just friends. And then a lot of people sent me reviews stating that they _Did Not_ want Loki and Nebula together and honestly I was a little annoyed.

That is why last chapter I wrote in my Author's Note Again, _"I AM NOT SHIPPING LOKI AND NEBULA TOGETHER IN THIS STORY!"_ Then I got another review stating that they kind of liked the idea of those two getting together and that made me start to rethink again.

Then I had one of those, "Oh, my gosh! I'm an idiot," moments. I write this story for all of you, but in reality it is my story so I should do what _I_ want. I thought about it last night and I slept on it and I have decided on what to do now.

So, I am "printing a retraction" on my statement I said in my last Author's Note Again. I think I might just make Loki/Nebula the endgame of this story.

That's all.

Just me being inconsistent and worrying about it.

Have a good rest of your day. (Thanks for all the reviews! I believe we're up to 300 now, which is so unreal! Thank You for all the love!)

-TGWLTMS2.0


	18. Chapter Fifteen

_Author's Note: I'm back._

 _I am so terribly sorry about taking off such a long hiatus and I am really terribly sorry if you were worrying about me. I got one review telling me that they were worried if I was even alive or not. Not my intention to worry you all! I'm sorry, life got weird and then very busy and I just got sidetracked._

 _Before we go on, as most of you know we lost Stan Lee. And I feel obligated to say that he will be missed and that without him none of us would probably be here right now. Without him and the other writers of the original comic books, we never would have gotten the movies and therefore this story wouldn't exist either. So, I wanted to say rest in peace Stan Lee. You will be missed a lot._

 _But moving onto less depressing matters, it feels good to publish another chapter. And a lot has happened since we last talked. There has been a lot of Captain Marvel news, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is out (That film is amazing!), Spider-Man: Far From Home released its trailer, and we finally got to see footage for Avengers 4! Or should I say, Avengers: Endgame!_

 _I am so excited!_

 _I also just wanted to thank everyone for their consistent support and the reviews filled with such encouragement. And I honestly wasn't sure how people were going to react to my "Hello Again" update. Thank you so much for being so understanding! Also, I wanted to clarify that any official Loki/Nebula moments probably won't be until way later in the story. So, at this point, they're still just close friends._

 _(And a special shout out to_ _ **22fwright**_ _for their amazing and long reviews! Thanks for correcting me on my spelling of Stephen. And thank you for your support, your concern, and your ideas! I loved your ideas a lot and I was already thinking of incorporating a Clint talks to Loki like he did to Wanda scene later on in the story. We think alike! I'm not sure if I'll be able to go with all the things you mentioned in your reviews, but I wanted to say I appreciated them a lot. You are really good at coming up with ideas! I believe you said in one of your reviews that you are not a creative person and I could not disagree more. Your ideas are brilliant! And I can't believe you think that I am good enough to write for Marvel! That just made my day! Thank you again!)_

 _So, this chapter… Because I just don't have enough characters, I will be adding thirteen more. And no, sorry, it's not the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Does Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. even have thirteen characters?) You'll see. Two of these characters are more based on the comics and are actually more like two OCs._

 _Also, on a different note, in this chapter I decided not to spend too much time describing where everyone is standing, because it's annoying. I figured you could use your imagination for some of the parts where I don't bluntly say, "This person stood here." Okay?_

 _I guess that's it. Hope you enjoy the chapter and it was worth the wait!_

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 _Chapter Fifteen: Warnings and Preparations_

The fiery explosion had been forceful enough to blow out the large glass windows at the back of the room and spray out debris. Fortunately, everyone was down on the ground, so besides maybe a few tiny cuts and bruises there was no serious damage. The room however, looked like a small whirlwind had come through, with broken shards of glass and metal on the floor and on the table, which had been turned over on its side. As the hazy smoke began to clear, the shock began to subside and almost immediately everyone was trying to stand up.

Not surprisingly, the dear Captain was quick to get on his feet, so was Bucky. The metal-armed man surveyed the scene and muttered, "What the hell was that?"

Barton slowly got to his feet, helping Natasha as he did so. He scoffed, "I have no clue, but that was stronger than coffee."

"M'Baku better not be trying to impress that Jane Foster lady!" Shuri yelled. "Because if he did something, I'll-!"

"It wasn't him," Peter told her. He was quick to jump to his feet too. The boy shook his head lost in his own thoughts for a moment. "It was someone else…" He suddenly turned to Loki. "Fast thinking, Mr. Loki."

Loki was in no hurry to stand up but he did sit up and lean against the turned over table. Between the slight adrenalin rush and the sudden use of his magic, he was a mix of tired and energized. He nodded his head, breathlessly. "Yeah…thanks."

"Before we get sidetracked," Steve said, addressing everyone in the room, "is everyone okay?" There was a murmur of yeses. Steve then turned his attention to Stark who was lying flat on his back. "Are you alright?"

Stark groaned, "If I said no, can I retire?" Steve almost smiled and helped the man get into a sitting position.

"We're all fine," Gamora reiterated. She stood up, pulling up a shaken looking Quill along with her.

"Says you," Rocket grumbled somewhere beside her. She glanced down and saw Groot lying across the raccoon. "You don't have a tree laying on you."

"I am Groot!" Groot yelled, sounding annoyed.

Rocket huffed, "I _know_ it's not your fault but get your fat butt off of me!"

Loki decided that he had sat long enough and now he wanted to know what had happened. Thor was suddenly by his side, acting like his classic worried self, asking if he was alright. He muttered that he was and then took the few strides to the blown out window. The streets below were clear of all people except for two oddly placed figures. One was short and thin, the other was tall, muscular, and vaguely familiar. "Oh, stars above…"

"What?" Thor said, again right next to him. "What is it?"

The short figure was a woman and he wasn't sure who she was, but the other figure…he remembered catching glimpses of him.

On Thanos's ship.

And if he was not mistaken, this was Thanos's blood child.

"Thane."

He had barely said that one word above a mutter, and yet, the green assassin managed to hear him from across the room. "What?" she asked in shock. Both Gamora and Nebula ran up beside where Loki and Thor stood peering down at the two. Gamora had shown every sign of being a fierce and brave warrior but in this moment of seeing the two, her eyes were filled with something close to fear. "Oh, no."

"And Super Giant," Nebula said. Of course. That's who the woman in the street was. Super Giant, the Kree woman who usually was with Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian.

"They're part of…of Thanos's Black Order?" Wanda asked as she tried to catch her bearings. Loki nodded, not taking his eyes away from Thanos's other two children, and a few seconds later Wanda was standing with the group that was now forming around the blown out window.

Sam scoffed, "Jesus, how many freaking kids does Thanos have?"

" _A lot_ ," Nebula snapped. Clearly she was in no mood to deal with anything remotely annoying.

Strange and T'Challa both slowly made it to the glassless window and glanced at the two figures below. Strange once again seemed to be uncharacteristically quiet for a man who seemed to know everything. But the young king seemed to have no problem voicing his thoughts aloud. "Why would members of Thanos's group be here?"

Shuri stomped over to her brother and practically yelled, "How did they get through my barrier? _That's_ what I want to know!"

 _How did they get through the barrier?_

Not even the Outriders could get all the way through, and when they could it was only one or two at a time. Thane or Super Giant must have their own set of abilities that allowed them to break through the unbreakable barrier. That was the only logical explanation. But T'Challa's question still needed answering as well: Why were two of Thanos's children here?

Then right on cue, Strange joined the conversation. "Why don't we go down there and have a chat?" Loki glanced over at the Doctor, expecting to see him addressing the group, not looking directly at him. Strange wanted his attention. "Perhaps the only way we can know why they are here, is to ask them." Strange just as easily could've said, "We _have_ to go down there. Nobody argue with me." But he hadn't, which meant Strange didn't want to call any more attention to his "knowledge" or whatever then he already had in the past few days. So, he talked as if he was merely giving a suggestion, but the whole time he eyed Loki knowing that the expert liar would see through the lie.

 _Stars above, what is with this guy?_

But there was no point bringing it up. No point arguing against it. Going down there _was_ probably the only way to know why. Loki glanced away from Strange and sighed, "I suppose that's best."

He wasn't thrilled with the idea for several reasons, but mostly because if anybody went down there he knew he would want to go too. Not because he wanted to, stars knew he didn't, but because he felt a need to make sure no one got themselves killed. So, fine. He and whoever else would go and talk with Thane and Super Giant. And of course, classic Thor, probably knowing what was going on in his head, began to say, "Are you sure-?"

But Loki didn't wait for the reply. " _Yes_. I'm sure."

"I agree," Gamora said with a nod. Any sense of fear was instantly replaced with determination. "We have to know why they're here. This is the only way."

From her tone alone, it was obvious that she was going down there. And Quill was concerned about his girlfriend and feebly tried to change her mind. "Gamora, maybe you should let someone else talk to your siblings and-"

" _I'm_ going down there, _I'm_ going to confront them, and most importantly, they are _no siblings_ of mine."

Quill didn't try to finish his sentence.

T'Challa eyed the two figures below for a second longer before turning to his sister. "Shuri, I want you to stay here." Before she could argue, he had turned to Stark and Steve and told them, "Make sure everyone is safe. We shall see what they want." When he said "we" he motioned to himself and those closest to him, which were Loki, Thor, Nebula, Wanda, Gamora, and of course, Strange. Stark and Steve both nodded in agreement with T'Challa's plan.

But then the fierce General stepped forward. "Allow me to assist you, my King."

T'Challa shook his head. "General, I want you to make sure that there are no other threats in the city."

The General blinked away her concern and instead made an X with her arms in front of her chest, broke the X, and nodded. "Yes, my King."

T'Challa watched as the General turned and left the broken room. Then he went back to the matter at hand. "Doctor, whenever you are ready."

"Sure you guys don't need anyone else to come with?" Valkyrie asked, still sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. "You know, in case you need another fighter."

T'Challa shook his head again. "I am certain we will be fine."

"Stars, I hope so," Loki muttered under his breath. Strange opened up another one of his portals, this one leading directly to the streets below. T'Challa, with no sense of fear at all, went through first with his head held high. Everyone else in their little group followed him through, with Strange going last so he could close up the portal.

The street they had entered was void of people except for Thane and Super Giant who were only about ten feet in front of them. Thane was just as tall and muscular as his father and he even had the same purple-pink skin coloring but unlike Thanos, he did not have the lined chin and Thane's eyes were blood red. Such eyes were rare for a Titan. Clearly, Thane was a mix of two races. He wore an outfit very similar to Thanos's, except it was more red and orange. He also wore a cruel, smug smirk on his face. Super Giant looked like an average Kree, with blue skin, violet eyes, and wavy long navy blue hair. She wore black pants, a magenta and blue jacket, and blue high heel boots. She appeared to have a constant stuck-up and bitchy look about her, which her pressed lips and incredibly shallow cheeks did not help to change.

Thane let out a snort when he saw Strange close up the portal. "What amazing tricks these humans can do! Can you not just picture a couple of them on a leash as my prized pets?"

Super Giant nodded, looking down her nose at the group. "Hmm, tell me about it."

T'Challa took a few steps forward and addressed the two of them. "I am King T'Challa and I do not care for how you speak."

Thane arched up an eyebrow at him. " _Wow_. This one's feisty." Thane had mastered his father's ability to talk down to people like they were children.

"How did you get through our barrier?" T'Challa asked in an even tone.

Thane smirked again. "It was not too difficult. I just used a little thing called cosmic flame manipulation." Then to demonstrate what he was talking about, he raised his hand in the air and snapped his fingers. A spark came from his fingers and then two tiny flames, one yellow and one blue, danced around his hand for several moments before fizzling out into smoke.

Nebula glared at him. "What are you waiting for, applause?"

Thane scowled at her but Super Giant nodded to both Nebula and Gamora. "Sisters," she said, almost disgusted. Then again almost everything she said sounded like she was disgusted. She tore her gaze from Nebula and Gamora and eyed the others in the group. And that's when she spotted Loki. "Oh," she said with an amused look. " _You_."

Loki hated the way she said the word "you". It made him feel small and it just brought all of the bad memories rushing back. And now was not the time to sulk about the pain of the past. Thane's eyes shown with realization too. "Yes. I remember you as well." He let out a chuckle. "The sad, weak Asgardian."

Loki didn't have time to process just how much he wanted to throw a dagger at the man's head because suddenly Nebula was shouting, "If you have a reason for being here, just state it already!" Loki glanced over at her for the briefest of seconds. He would have to thank her for getting Thane and Super Giant's attention off of him later.

Thane chuckled at Nebula's response and rubbed his hands together. "We were sent here by our generous father to warn you that a reckoning is coming."

A reckoning? But why? Thanos's reckoning had already come and with deadly and disastrous results. Gamora was the first to voice what everyone was thinking. "What? Why? Thanos already won and took everything!"

"Apparently not," Super Giant snapped. She pointed a long, slender finger at Gamora. "You are supposed to be dead."

Gamora looked like she was about ready to lunge forward and punch Super Giant in the face. But Wanda had grabbed her shoulder to stop her. The Scarlet Witch must have been using her powers to know what she was thinking. Gamora settled for a snarky remark. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"What reckoning is coming?" Thor asked, trying to stop a fight from starting.

Thane's smirk disappeared and he looked dead serious. "Did you all think you could get away with it? Stealing souls from Thanos and the Soul Stone?"

Loki froze as he felt a chill move down his spine.

 _Oh, stars…Thanos knows. He knows what we did._

Apparently, everyone else in the group must have had a shocked expression as well, because Thane's smirk came back a little. "Yeah, _that_. Fifteen souls were stolen and if they are not returned to Thanos within fifteen hours, not only will he and the remaining of his blood attack this pathetic excuse of a world, but fifteen innocent souls will be taken in place of those who were stolen." Thane thought for a moment before adding cruelly, "Who knows? Maybe some of your cherished loved ones will be taken." Super Giant glared at Thane for saying that. Why would she glare at him? Unless-

"You talk as if we stole these souls," Nebula started, taking a few more steps towards them, "when it was Thanos who stole them in the first place!"

Super Giant spun her head to glare at Nebula, her hair getting in her face as she did so. But she did more than glare at Nebula, she was doing something to her. Because the second she looked at her, Nebula halted. It was like she was frozen in place. And then suddenly she fell to her knees, clutching her head. Gamora rushed to her sister's side and Loki stared at the blue girl, who was so clearly in pain, in shock. He didn't rush over like he should, he felt like he couldn't even move. All he could do was snap, "What-what are you doing to her?"

Thane chuckled again. Loki probably could have killed the man right here and now just for that. "You never had a chance to meet Super Giant when you were on father's ship, did you? She is a telepath and a powerful one at that. So powerful in fact, she could kill any one of you with a single thought."

"Wanna bet?" Wanda said, a bit of an edge in her voice. Loki turned to see her eyes beginning to glow and her red magic start to swirl around her hands. Suddenly Nebula stopped clutching at her head and sat up straighter, looking better. It took Loki maybe about three seconds to figure out what Wanda was doing: She was using her own telepathy to block Super Giant's mental reach.

Super Giant's eyes widened slightly as she realized she could no longer reach any of the people standing before her. She held out both her hands and tried to break through, but clearly she had no luck. "Hmm." She glared at Wanda with a deadly death stare and she slowly crossed her arms. "No one has ever been able to resist my mind before, but I suppose a person who got their powers from an Infinity Stone does have somewhat of an edge…" She was pissed off and she wasn't doing anything to hide that fact.

Thane ignored her and instead told the group, "Tell your so called "team" that you have fifteen hours to decide what to do."

"And you tell Thanos that he will not win this war," T'Challa said in a stern voice.

Thane tilted his head to the side and gave T'Challa a look filled with mock sympathy. "Oh, you poor man. He already has won the war."

Strange took several steps forward with his head held high and said calmly, "All Thanos has won is a battle. Nothing more."

Thane's smug gleam in his eye diminished for a brief second before coming back in full force. He glared at all of them and with a wave of his hand, he had created a bright, pure red flame. Loki could feel the heat way back from where he stood and he couldn't help but flinch away from it. Thane chuckled in amusement and he tossed the flame like a ball up in the air, up towards the top of the barrier. The flame reached its target and burned a small hole through the barrier. Thane leaned forward and said, "The clock is ticking." Then a blue beam shot down through the hole in the barrier and both Thane and Super Giant were beamed back onto their unseen pod ship.

…

"So, let me just go over this one more time," Stark said as he paced and rubbed his head.

Quill rolled his eyes. "Dude, seriously? What is it with you and repeating things over and over and over again?"

"It's what he does," Barton muttered from where he sat, perched near the open window.

"Yes," Bruce said, sounding annoyed. "So _please_ don't interrupt him so we can move on."

Stark didn't need the okay to repeat the summary once again. "Thanos is going to attack the planet in fifteen hours and take fifteen souls if we don't return those we saved from the Soul World. Is that right?"

"That's what Thane told us," Thor said.

"Well, this is just freakin' brilliant!" Rocket yelled as he paced around the room as well. What was it with him and Stark and all of the pacing? In fact, they were the only two in the room who were pacing. Everyone else was either leaning up against the walls of the room or sitting at the table that they had put back up.

Scott raised his hand in the air to ask a question. "We're not going to give him those we saved, right?"

"Of course not!" Natasha snapped.

Scott flinched at her yell. "Sorry, I just wanted to be clear."

"So what do we do then?" Bucky asked. "Let Thanos steal innocent souls in our place?" It was clear that the metal-armed man was not too keen on the idea of someone else taking his place. Especially some random, innocent person.

If Thanos planed on stealing a random soul at all… The way Thane had spoken about their loved ones and the glare Super Giant had given him for saying that…

"I don't think he will pick random souls," Loki said. He felt nearly everyone's eyes turn to him. He was sitting at the table, staring down at the still glossy surface. Funny, this table was almost like the table at the Avengers headquarters. Stars, it felt like a lifetime ago that he and Bruce had visited it to tell the Avengers about Thanos's arrival. He glanced up, looked between Thor, Nebula, Wanda, T'Challa, Gamora, and Strange, and said, "You all saw the way Thane said "maybe some of our cherished loved ones will be taken"?" The six of them all nodded that yes they did remember how Thane had said that. "Well, maybe Thanos will go after the loved ones who are still here in the plane of the living but not here in Wakanda."

Stark had a startled look on his face as he realized what Loki was talking about. "Like Pepper," he muttered. He started pacing more rapidly. "Okay, that's something to discuss."

"It's just a theory," Loki clarified.

"Yeah," Rhodey started with a nod, "but the last time you had a theory it turned out to be spot on."

Hope nodded in agreement as well. "There is that. But with all of this being said, _what_ _are_ we going to do?" Stark suddenly had this funny and strange look on his face. It looked like he was having a brainstorm about a crazy, risky plan.

 _Well, that doesn't look good._

Loki glanced over at Thor, who stood practically behind him. "That's not a good look, is it?"

Thor shook his head. "Uh, no."

Steve stepped towards his friend, almost cautiously. "Tony?"

Stark suddenly snapped out of his trance. "Yeah?" He glanced over everyone's slightly confused looks and rubbed the back of his neck with both hands. Then he started to explain. "I was…I was just thinking about a maybe plan. It's a crazy and risky maybe plan, though."

 _I called it._

"Hey, my two favorite words!" Rocket said with a new cheeriness to his tone. "Okay, spill it. What's on your mind?"

Stark continued with his usual pacing as he preceded to tell them his thoughts. "This is what I think: All we need to do is get all of our loved ones who are still out there, here. Thanos is coming back. There's no question about it. If we have who he wants to use against us, he is literally gonna come straight to us. No side trips, no stopping at drive-thru, straight to us. And then this will be our chance to steal back the stones."

There was silence in the room for about thirty seconds, as everyone thought over Stark's plan. Then Shuri exclaimed, "Yes! We could keep those we wish to protect all here in the city and then we could have the fight somewhere less populated. Like the mountains or something."

"Oh, M'Baku would just be thrilled to hear you say that," T'Challa muttered. "However, sister, I do think you are on the right track."

Was Loki hearing them correctly? He cleared his throat. "So, hang on. You want to get all of your loved ones in one spot so you can essentially use them as bait to insure that Thanos comes here where we all are so we can steal the stones back?"

Stark nodded after a few seconds. "Yeah… I guess that's what I'm saying."

Quill muttered, "That is a pretty good plan." Although, why was anyone's guess.

"Keep your opinions to yourself," Hope told the rugged man. She stepped up to the table and put her hands on the glossy surface. "Are we sure that this is the best possible plan we can come up with?"

"I am not," Loki said.

"Me either," Steve said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Sam sighed, "Oh, great. Another thirty minute talking fest. Have you guys noticed lately that instead of Avenging all we do is stand around and debate like our lives depend on it?"

Mantis softly said, "I have noticed it."

Valkyrie slouched even more in her chair and snapped, "I've been annoyed by it."

Groot simply said, "I am Groot."

Rocket acted as the tree's translator this time around. "He says that he is just annoyed period."

Nebula grumbled, "I would be too if everyone was wasting valuable time. Oh, wait. That's exactly what we're doing!"

Loki had to smirk at all of the sarcasm in her tone. "You're rubbing off on her," Bruce told him. Loki nodded, still with a slight smirk on his face.

"Alright," Stark said, putting them all back on track. "Let's settle it diplomatically. Who wants to stand around the big boring table and come up with another plan or who wants to go with my admittedly flawed plan? Those are the choices, so everyone vote. Big boring table…" Loki, Steve, Hope, and Wanda were the only ones to raise their hands. Well, Loki had figured that most everyone would want to go with Stark's plan but he was honestly a little surprised that Wanda was one of the few who didn't. Stark continued, "Okay. Flawed plan…" Everyone else in the room raised their hands.

"Well, that's settled then," Rhodey said lowering his hand. "We can use Shuri's computers to track down everyone."

T'Challa nodded his head. "Alright, we will need everyone to write down the names of the people they would like to protect."

Shuri half chuckled. "Write down? Brother, please. Nobody writes anything down anymore."

The young king tiredly rubbed his head. " _Anyways_ , then perhaps the good Doctor would be kind enough to assist us with teleporting everyone here."

Strange had been standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed. He had once again been quiet for the entire, as Sam would have called it, "talking fest". But the second T'Challa had finished his request, Strange, without thinking, said, "Of course."

Although Loki noticed this and would have loved to point out this odd behavior, he figured doing so would get them nowhere fast. T'Challa turned back to his sister. "Shuri, is Nakia…?" Shuri blinked her eyes a few times and glanced at the floor. It was obvious that whoever this Nakia person was, she was no longer here after the snap. T'Challa seemed deeply saddened by this but he didn't say another word on the matter.

Everyone had noticed this sudden change in T'Challa's demeanor, unfortunately they all knew that this was not the time to get sidetracked. They needed to focus. Stark said, "Alright, let's just go around the room. Tell me the names of your friends and family and we'll find them."

"If they're still here," Peter added, sounding uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"Right," Stark said. He nodded to Shuri and the genius girl pulled up one of the working computers from one of the walls. She pulled up two screens, one was blank and the other was a holograph image of the Earth. Shuri would type in the names and then the computer would find their locations. Simple enough. Stark stepped over to Peter and patted his shoulder. "Well, uh, kid, how about we start with you?"

Peter nodded and sighed, "Okay, so there's Aunt May, there's Ned, and there's M.J. All of them would be in Queens, New York."

"I'm just assuming you don't mean Michael Jorden," Sam said with a half-smile.

Peter chuckled, "No. Michelle Jones. She's my…friend."

As Shuri typed in the three names, Natasha smiled at Peter. "You took a little long to decide that she was _just_ your friend."

Peter frowned. "Now you sound like my aunt. She thinks me and M.J. are going to date or something, but we're just friends." Natasha nodded, but she kept her unconvinced smile up as she did so. Peter noticed this right away. "No, seriously. We're just friends." Natasha's smile still didn't disappear. Peter huffed, "I'm being serious. Michelle and I aren't-"

"Red, will you just leave the poor boy alone?" Loki interrupted, rubbing both sides of his head. "It's bad enough that he has to deal with being called a child, which for the record he is, but he shouldn't have to deal with being questioned about his love life."

"Thank you, Mr. Loki. And I would like to go on record and say that I am _not_ a child."

Stark sighed, "Okay, can we focus for like two seconds? Please?" Peter nodded and dropped the argument. Stark shook his head and continued on. "Alright, what about any of you guys?" He motioned to the entire left side of the room, where the Guardians, Nebula, Wanda, Bucky, Sam, and Rhodey all stood or sat. They all shook their heads no. None of them had anyone else out there to protect. Stark glanced at Loki, Thor, and Valkyrie. "And I'm just assuming that our three Asgardians have everyone that they want to protect here already." Thor nodded. Stark turned to Scott, who stood nearby him. "Okay. Ah, Lang?"

Scott said, "Yeah. I got my daughter Cassie and my best friend Luis. And I know that they are both still here and not in the Soul World."

"Here," Hope said walking over to Shuri. "I'll type in the address for you."

Barton stood up as well and made his way over too. "And I'll give you the location of the safe house Laura is in."

Stark turned to Bruce and Natasha next. "How 'bout you two?"

Bruce glanced around at the people in the room. "All my friends are here."

Natasha smiled a small, sad smile. "Same."

It was interesting. Loki could safely say that he had never been closer to anyone more than all of these crazy, heroic people and yet, he realized he did not know a lot about them. With the exception of Thor, Nebula, Wanda and a few others, no one in the room really talked about their other friends or family. And clearly, this was because for most of them, they didn't have anyone else.

"Well, this certainly is redecorating taken to a new level," said a familiar voice. Everyone turned to the doorway and saw M'Baku glancing around the room with a surprised look. A few seconds later, Miss Foster came rushing in, looking equally as shocked.

She brushed back a few strands of her hair from her face and said, "We were in a different building when we heard the explosion-what…what happened?"

"Thanos is angry about the people who were saved," Mantis said softly.

Miss Foster's eyes had a bit of fear in them as they widened slightly. "So, is he coming here or-?"

The dear Captain held out his hand to silence her and calm her down. "We're not going to let Thanos take anyone who escaped the Soul World. Or anyone else."

She nodded, looking relieved. "Then what's our plan?"

" _"_ _Our"_?" Rocket asked skeptically.

Loki scoffed, "Let Miss Foster be part of the group because she will slap you across the face if she gets irritated enough."

"Yeah," Thor agreed.

"They're asking everyone to name off their loved ones, so we can send Dr. Strange to get them if they are still here with us," Gamora explained.

Miss Foster nodded her head. "Erik disappeared like I did, so that would leave Darcy. If she's still here she would be in London."

"Got it," Stark said and then he glanced over to Steve. "Cap?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't believe-"

"What about that blonde?" Bucky interrupted with an odd smile.

Steve blinked a few times, not knowing who his friend was talking about, then suddenly he looked like he was on the verge of embarrassment of all things. "Buck-"

"Oh, yeah," Sam said, a little too happily. "The agent chick. What was her name?"

Steve half glared at him. "Sam-"

"You boys talking about Sharon Carter?" Natasha asked.

Bucky and Sam both exclaimed, "That's it!"

"You have a girlfriend?" Stark asked, looking directly at Steve. The dear Captain became abnormally quiet.

"Wow," Thor muttered, "didn't see that one coming."

Steve let out a deep sigh and started to say, "Sharon is not my girlfriend. We just-"

"Made out that one time," Bucky interrupted again.

Sam chuckled, "Yup."

Stark and Natasha both turned to Steve in amazement. Apparently, neither of them had known this and both of them looked eager to ask about a hundred questions. Steve put a stop to this before it began. "Okay. Sharon and I are not in a relationship, if you want to put her on the list that is fine," he half glared at Bucky and Sam, "and will you two please stop it?"

The two men glanced at each other, turned back to Steve, and both said, "No." Just about everyone in the room chuckled. Just about everyone.

Strange cleared his throat sternly. Stark rolled his eyes. "Well apparently, we must move this right along."

Strange was quite for a second before saying, "I think the only ones who have other people out there are you and me, Tony."

"Yeah," Stark said in agreement. "Put down Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan."

Rocket blinked a few times. "Ah, Happy? That's a name?"

Loki shrugged. "Apparently."

"Your sidekick Wong is still with us," Stark told Strange.

Strange nodded, not looking surprised at this news. "I figured as much because of the book the spell to get to the Soul World was in." Strange glanced at the floor and quietly said, "You can put Dr. Christine Palmer on the list."

With that last name, Shuri ran her fingers across the screen. "The names are in and the locations are loading."

"I'll go get Wong," Strange said. "Together we can divide and conquer the list."

It was a good plan. Two magic-users teleporting across the world, in search of people who were in potential danger. Maybe they would need a third magic-user. Loki began to say, "If you need some help-"

Strange was quick to cut him off. "No. I think once everyone is safe and sound, you should continue with giving Wanda a few pointers on magic. You can't do that if you're worn out."

"We did kind of get interrupted," Wanda said with a smile of remembrance.

Drax nodded his head in remembrance too. "Yes. I remember. That is when I stepped into that trap and was hanging upside down."

Rocket rubbed his forehead and chuckled, "Man, I wish I had seen that."

"Can we please just get on with it?" Valkyrie snapped.

"Don't worry," Strange said, already opening another one of his sparkler portals, "I'm on it."

…

Strange had retrieved Wong in no time at all and soon the two oddly dressed wizards had split the list of names in half and were gone to find them. In the meantime, the large group moved from the broken room into a different, more open sitting room. Dark knitted drapes hung from the walls and almost all the furniture had a silver hue to it, even the sofas. There were two overstuffed sofas, one to the left and the other to the right. About four people could sit on one sofa. Stark, Rhodey, Sam, and Bruce sat on the sofa to the left, Natasha, Valkyrie, Gamora, and Nebula sat on the one to the right. Thor and Steve stood together by another window near the back of the room and Drax was standing close to them, admiring the two manly men. Everyone else sat in finely crafted sitting chairs that were scattered throughout the room, except for Barton, who decided to check on his three kids, Peter, who wanted to wait for Strange and Wong out in the hallway, and M'Baku, who went to see if the rest of his people were okay.

The plan was to wait for Strange and Wong to be done finding the people they wanted to protect and then they would start to prepare. Technically, not everyone had to sit and wait. The Guardians for example, could be off somewhere else resting or whatever it was that they needed to do before Thanos's arrival. But in all honesty, and no one would ever admit this, it did not seem like anyone wanted to be separated from the obnoxiously large group. Safety in numbers was the old saying, besides after all that had happened in the last thirty minutes it was safe to say that they were all a little on edge. Stars, it took Peter a good ten minutes to convince Stark to let him wait in the hallway, but then again it seemed like Stark would have been overly protective of the boy regardless. Now everyone sat in silence, stewing on the unspoken fear of the inevitable second battle with Thanos.

Rocket finally broke the silence by mumbling, "Anyone else hungry?"

There was a pause, then Sam nodded. "Yeah. A little bit."

"We should order a pizza or something," Natasha muttered, soundly vaguely sarcastic.

But Scott's eyes lit up, taking the ex-assassin's comment seriously. "Yes! Besides, it has been scientifically proven that ordering a pizza is the best way to solve a problem." Hope slapped her hand to her forehead. Loki sighed.

 _I never did get an answer as to why Hope is with this guy._

He rubbed the sides of his head and then said, "Okay, first of all, what science backed up that ridiculous statement? Second, why is that statement relevant? We do not need to solve a problem. And thirdly, what is wrong with you?"

"I'm just trying to break the tension and the silence," Scott said in his defense. "And hey, anytime any of you guys make a science statement, no one asks what's wrong with you guys."

"I think that's because we know what we're talking about," Bruce said under his breath.

"A pizza does sound nice though," Miss Foster said.

A few people nodded in agreement, and Quill said, "Yeah. And it's been so long since I had one."

Mantis asked in her soft voice, "What is a pizza?"

It was interesting that the Guardians literally knew next to nothing about Midgard and its different specialties. Loki wouldn't consider himself an expert on Midgard but he at least knew what a bloody pizza was. Quill told Mantis, and in turn the rest of his team, "It's this circular flat bread with sauce, cheese, and other things like meat and vegetables."

"Intriguing," Drax said, fully invested in Quill's vague description. "Where do we find one?"

"You don't find them, you order them," Quill said.

Drax appeared confused, which usually meant he was going to say something dumb or obnoxious or maybe both. " _Order?_ Like how Gamora orders her swords from longest to shortest?"

Quill closed his eyes and looked about ready to shout. He didn't though. He quietly said, "Not even close."

"How about this," Rhodey started, "once the two wizards are done getting everyone and we all take some time to prepare, we sit down and get a pizza?"

Most everyone nodded that that sounded good to them. Stark nodded his head too. "So, it's settled then. We'll get a pizza for the group and an aspirin for Star-Lord." Quill did look like he had a pounding headache but dealing with someone like Drax could give a person a pounding headache.

T'Challa rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over at Shuri, who was sitting right next to him. "Do you want to tell them?"

The teenage genius shook her head and said, "Why should I? _You're_ the King."

T'Challa sighed and addressed the group. "Wakanda does not have any pizza parlors as of yet."

"What kind of place doesn't have a pizza parlor?" Scott exclaimed. "That's crazy!"

Shuri scoffed, "Please, we don't even have a Star Bucks yet."

"Now, that's crazy," Hope muttered.

"Yeah, guys," Natasha said, looking directly at T'Challa. "I mean, I know that vibranium is powerful and all, but can it replace the amazing effects of caffeine?"

The young King half smirked. Miss Foster then cleared her throat and started to say, "Well, until recently, Wakanda was shut off from the world and had its own individual culture. They cannot be expected to have everything that we would consider normal." T'Challa nodded in agreement with everything she had said. He also glanced at Shuri with an, I told you so, look. Apparently, the two siblings had talked about why Wakanda didn't have everything that a place like New York would have. Miss Foster continued on, "I mean, it's not like I expected to see McDonalds in Asgard."

"Who is McDonalds?" Drax asked. Everyone who knew that McDonalds was a fast-food restaurant, which was practically everyone in the room, turned to Drax and just stared at him. The rest of the Guardians, except for Quill, didn't understand why everyone was staring at Drax because they didn't know what McDonalds was either.

But then Gamora seemed to remember something. "Wasn't he the old man who had a farm?"

"Yeah!" Mantis said excitedly. "Old McDonald had a farm."

Quill shook his head and looked like he was at the end of his rope. "No, guys, that's not the same-"

Rocket interrupted. "And he had a bunch of nosy animals." Quill started to open his mouth to correct his team, but then threw his hands in the air and gave up.

"I am Groot," Groot muttered after a while.

Thor nodded his head in agreement with whatever Groot had said. "I don't see what this has to do with anything either."

Quill looked up at Thor in surprise. "Wait, you understand him?"

"There is nothing the pirate angel cannot do," Drax said, almost in awe.

"Well, that is absolutely not true," Loki muttered. "In the Asgardian schools, there were over two hundred possible elective classes to pick from and this genius always picked the athletic classes at all possible. Except for his one foreign language class."

"You said I would never have a use for learning it. Well, I see a use now," Thor said, almost in an "I told you so" tone.

Loki scoffed, "Yes, and it only took over six hundred years to finally be useful."

"What electives did you take?" Hope asked him, seeming like she genuinely wanted to know.

But Loki just said, "Bit of everything." He was a bit short in his tone and he knew it. Hope blinked a few times and nodded, obviously a bit taken aback by his lack of enthusiasm and gruff tone of voice. It wasn't that he wanted to be rude and it certainly wasn't Hope's question, it was his out of control insecurity. While it was abundantly clear that the Avengers and the Guardians did care about him, some more than others, he couldn't help but be on guard.

The lingering calm and content feeling Mantis had helped him to gain, coupled with the urgency to prepare for Thanos's imminent arrival, allowed Loki to act like himself for the most part. But now that he was sitting still, he was remembering all those horrible things Barton had said. Now, the archer wasn't even in the room but the revival fear that someone would see his vulnerabilities and have that crushing judgmental gleam in their eye, made him pull his walls back up. He didn't want to risk opening himself up too much again, not yet anyways. And usually, he would pull on his usual disguise of being a snarky, sarcastic trickster, but to be honest, being the God of Mischief was exhausting work. So, short and gruff sentences it was.

"Well, uh," Bruce started to say, trying to break the sudden silence. "Back to the pizza problem, we could always have Strange or Wong or both go get us one."

"Or we could just eat here," Nebula said bluntly. Valkyrie nodded in agreement.

Bucky chuckled in remembrance of something else. He glanced at the dear Captain. "Hey Steve, remember that little place in Brooklyn. The one where we used to go-"

"After the movies?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded. Steve half smiled and went on with, "Yeah, Jack's Pizzeria. I remember it had a rather large back alley. I think I got beat up back there."

Sam scoffed, "That's one way to remember a place."

Loki's anxious nature was starting to kick in full force and honestly, he couldn't care less about whether or not they got a damned pizza. "Joy to the blessed world, what is taking Strange and Wong so long?"

"It shouldn't be too much longer now," Wanda said trying to be comforting. The girl was always trying to be comforting.

Then, at that very moment, the large ebony door to leave the room began to open. "Apparently not," Nebula muttered.

Peter walked in, followed by a chubby boy with dark hair, who looked to be about his age. It would appear that Strange and Wong were finally starting to come back with the others. Upon seeing Peter walk in, Stark said, "Hey, kid. There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back or not."

The chubby boy froze when he saw Stark and then slowly he glanced around the room and recognized Earth's mightiest heroes. The boy grabbed Peter's arm to steady himself, because he looked about ready to faint. "Peter," he mumbled under his breath, "I'm not remembering to breathe…"

Peter started to say, "Ned-"

But the chubby boy, Ned, suddenly exclaimed, "It's the Avengers. It's the freaking Avenger!"

Peter tried to calm his friend with little consequence. "Ned, I know it's crazy but you need to-"

"Where's my phone? I need to take some major selfies right now!" Ned yanked out his cellphone from his pants pocket and started looking around at everyone excitedly. "I don't even know where to start!"

Peter sighed and shook his head. "Everyone, this is my best friend Ned."

Ned smiled a big goofy grin and waved at everyone in the room. "Hi."

"Ned, this is the Avengers." Then as an afterthought, Peter said, "Oh, and these are the Guardians of the Galaxy. They're new."

Ned nodded to the Guardians that Peter pointed to, but then he appeared confused. "Is that a raccoon and a tree?"

In classic Rocket fashion, the raccoon crossed his arms and gruffly said, "Yeah it is."

Ned's already wide excited eyes got wider. "Oh, my God, the raccoon talked!"

"Why is everyone always surprised by that?" Rocket asked nobody in particular.

Quill muttered, "Talking animals really isn't a thing here on Earth."

"This is like the best day of my entire life!" Ned exclaimed. Then he turned to Peter. "And that even includes the day you let me be your guy in the chair."

"The guy in the chair?" Sam asked, confused.

Peter closed his eyes and remained silent, but Ned was quick to answer. "Yeah. You know, the guy who sits in a chair surrounded by computers and tells the hero, in this case Peter, where to go."

"So, you're his sidekick?" Stark asked.

"Yeah," the boy said nodding. "And hey, Mr. Stark it is so good to finally meet you. Peter only ever says good things about you and it's so cool that you are his mentor." Stark smiled at this. "And to see the Avengers back together…you know I was so bummed when you guys all broke up. And speaking of that," he turned to Wanda, "Miss Scarlet Witch? All the bad media that you got was totally unjustified and I think you're awesome."

Wanda smiled at the overly excited boy. "Thank you. That is very sweet of you to say."

Ned looked so proud of himself. "You're welcome." He turned back to Peter with a good question. "Hey, Pete, do you know why people just vanished?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, this stupid purple guy from space is a jerk and wants to destroy half of all life. It's causing a real crisis."

"A crisis? Like what kind? Like when that robot made a city fly or when that crazy guy came with aliens?"

"Ah, Ned." Peter pointed over to where Loki sat.

Ned saw the trickster and not surprisingly looked startled. Loki causally waved at him. "Hello."

"Hi," Ned said slowly. "I'm sorry. I'm not…very…smart."

Loki had to chuckle at that. The boy seemed to be a perfect friend for Peter. "It's perfectly fine."

Ned quickly turned back to his friend and asked in a hushed voice, "But isn't he the guy who attacked New York?"

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. He's not like that anymore. He's a good guy now. I mean, in the last two days alone he's saved everyone like ten times."

"Oh?" Ned said, still surprised.

"Yeah." Peter paused for a second before adding, "And he can do magic too. Like the other wizard."

Ned nodded his head and exclaimed, "Cool!"

"Excuse me," Shuri asked, suddenly standing up from her chair. She stepped up to the two teenagers and focused her attention on Ned. "I just have one question. Do you like memes and vines?"

Ned shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

Shuri beamed. "I have another best friend!"

Ned, who had already looked like the happiest boy alive, suddenly became ecstatic. "The Princess of Wakanda is my friend. _My_ friend. Pete, I am loving this day!"

A knock on the door interrupted Ned's reveling in how amazing his day had become. The door began to open and in walked in the light haired woman named Pepper. "Tony," she said breathlessly when she saw Stark. And Stark looked a little breathless himself as he stood up from the sofa he had been sitting on and just stared at her.

"Pepper." With that one word, the two closed the space between them and threw their arms around each other. Both of them appeared overjoyed to be back with the other one. More than overjoyed in fact. "Hey, how are you doing?" Stark said after a while, pulling away only to look at Pepper directly. "You okay?"

Pepper chuckled and wiped her fingers under her eyes. "As well as I was a few hours ago when we last texted. I didn't know you were going to send someone to get me."

"Yeah, it was kinda a last minute decision." Stark brushed a strand of Pepper's fair hair off to the side. Everyone in the room had been silent to let the couple have their little moment, but at this point Stark had realized that everyone was quiet and watching his reunion. He cleared his throat and tried to go back to the "leader" role that he frequently took on. Funny, Stark obviously didn't mind showing his emotions sometimes, but clearly he wanted to at least try to keep up a strong front. "Happy with you?"

"Right here," said a muffled, male voice on the other side of the door.

Stark scrunched up his eyebrows confused. "What are you doing on the other side of the door?"

"Well," started the muffled voice, "when I saw that no one was guarding the door, I thought I should. I mean, you can never be too careful."

Stark sighed, annoyed. "Happy, just get in here."

" _Fine_." The door finally opened and in walked an average looking man with dark hair, dressed in a plain suit. He looked a bit too serious to be called "Happy". He didn't come too far into the room and in fact, he stayed very close to the door. "But if there is a breach in security, don't blame me."

"We have the finest security procedures put in place, Mr. Hogan," Shuri told him politely.

"Who's this?" Happy asked.

"I'm Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda."

"And my friend," Ned added quietly.

"Okay, you I know," Happy said pointing at the teen boy. Then he saw Peter. "Mr. Parker, good to see you in one piece."

Peter nodded. "You too, Mr. Happy."

Happy glanced around the room and he only stopped when his eyes focused on someone he recognized. "Rhodey."

Rhodey nodded to the man. "Happy. It's been awhile."

"Well, you joining the super friends with Tony is probably the reason for that." Loki wasn't one hundred percent sure but, he could have sworn that he had heard a bit of resentment in Happy's tone.

 _He certainly doesn't seem all that happy._

"The super friends?" Drax asked.

"Cartoon show," Quill told him. "Not too bad, really."

Natasha rubbed her forehead tiredly. "So, do you just know every pop culture thing?"

"Only all the pop culture things from the 80s and before," Quill told her.

Nebula muttered sarcastically, "He sounds so proud of himself." Quill scowled at the blue girl, while Happy just eyed the Guardians in confusion. Pepper also looked a little lost as to who these odd people were.

"Right," Stark said, realizing that more introductions were in order. "Pepper, Happy you should recognize the Avengers and these are-"

The door suddenly swung open, knocking Happy over in the process, and a young brunette woman wearing causal clothes and a knitted beanie on top of her head barged in. She came to a screeching halt, staring at the group with wide eyes. She shook her head in disbelief. "Holy shit…the guy in the weird bathrobe wasn't lying."

Miss Foster stood up and looked relieved. "Darcy."

"Jane!" Darcy exclaimed upon seeing her friend. She ran over to her, hugged her, and began chattering at a ridiculous rate. "I was beginning to freak out. You and Erik were gone for like, I don't know, four days. I should not be left alone to deal with things like this. I don't get paid enough… I don't get paid period." She turned her attention to Happy, maybe remembering that she had knocked over the man. "Hey, sorry about flattening you. But I was just in a hurry."

"Yeah, that was not cool," Happy said not at all holding back his hostile tone.

"Hey, I said sorry," Darcy semi-snapped. "That should be good enough." Then she saw Thor and her sour mood turned happy again. "Hey, Thor! Good to see you. It's been, what? Four years?" The girl had not been in the room longer than two minutes and already it was clear that she had a short attention span. It was kind of fascinating actually.

Thor smiled as he approached her. "Yes. How have you been?"

Darcy shrugged and straightened her beanie. "About the same. I was dating my intern until that fell to pieces. I was helping Erik and Jane with all their weird science stuff. I was helping Jane get over you. There was _a lot_ of ice cream involved with that last one." Miss Foster rubbed her head and looked like she was on the verge of dragging Darcy out of the room. "And so, you know. About the same. How's space?"

Valkyrie said, "Space? Just _space_?"

Thor ignored her and told Darcy, "Space is okay."

"Just space…" Valkyrie muttered again, under her breath.

"Well, he's from another planet, so space," Darcy explained.

"Realm," Loki corrected. "Another _realm_."

Darcy turned around and saw Loki. "Hey, Thor's crazy brother." She paused and eyed him up and down for several seconds. Then she chuckled, "Wow."

"What?" Miss Foster asked.

Darcy shrugged again. "I don't know. Was he always this hot?"

Miss Foster didn't even think, she just replied, "Yes." Her quickness of her response not only surprised Loki, but also herself. "I-I mean no…I mean…" She took a deep breath and tried to smother her flusteredness. She was not that successful, so instead she started pushing Darcy towards the door. "Let's go somewhere else. _Now_."

"Jeez, you're in a mood," Darcy mumbled. "I was just asking a question."

"Go!" Miss Foster exclaimed.

Once she finally succeeded in getting herself and her odd friend out of the room, everyone else glanced at each other and started snickering, except for Loki who was feeling really lost. "What just happened?"

"You got complimented by two girls," Stark said with a smirk.

Loki didn't feel any less lost. "But-"

"Just accept it," Bruce told him.

At that moment the door opened once again and in came Wong. He held the door open for a little girl with mousey brown hair that was held back with a headband. "Here we are," he said, motioning her into the room.

The girl nodded and very politely said, "Thank you."

Wong smiled. "You are quite welcome."

Scott about jumped from his chair and ran to the little girl. The man had a tendency to be over excited but in this moment he had never looked so ecstatic. "Peanut!"

The girl's eyes shone with her own excitement. "Daddy!" The father and daughter reunited with Scott scoping her up and practically twirling her around in a circle.

The girl giggled happily and Scott sighed almost to himself, "Oh, it is so good to see you, Cassie. It feels like a lifetime ago since I last saw you." After taking a second to look his daughter over once again, Scott turned to Wong, who had stayed in the room to see the happy little reunion, and said, "Thanks."

Wong rose his hand to silence him. "No thanks are necessary." He turned to leave the room but then as an afterthought he said over his shoulder, "Just make sure your friend keeps his distance when this is all said and done."

Scott appeared confused. "My friend?"

As if on cue, a man came bursting into the room wearing very rugged street clothes and a baseball cap. He saw Scott, pointed at him, and exclaimed, "Scottie!"

Wong hurriedly left the room.

Hope rubbed her forehead. "And here we go."

Scott finally set Cassie down and approached his friend with a pat on the shoulder. "Luis. It's good to see you too. Thanks for looking after Cassie for me."

"Oh, yeah," Luis said, his head bobbing up and down. "No problem."

"I assume everything went okay?"

"Of course. I can handle taking care of my bro's kid for a few days. We was all cool."

Loki rolled his eyes at that last sentence.

 _We was all cool?_

He couldn't help but mutter, "Why can't you Midgardians ever get grammar right?"

Luis turned his gaze towards him and instead of looking shocked, which was pretty much how everyone looked upon seeing him, he looked almost amazed. "Damn! It's you. You're that guy from like five years ago! The guy with the aliens and shit."

Scott nodded. "Uh, yeah. Luis, this is Loki. He's part of the enterprise to defeat, uh, the guy responsible for making everyone disappear."

Hope raised an eyebrow at him. "The enterprise?"

Luis ignored this and instead changed the subject. "Man, I remember when I first heard about New York. So, I had just gotten out of prison and was seeing this gal, Isabella, right? Well, we went to see this lovey dovey chick-flick, but you know me, I'm more of a dramatic, thriller kinda guy. But anyways, anyways, she was telling me about her cousin in Boston who is this writer, reporter dude. So the reporter dude was telling Isabella, that he is like gonna be getting the next big award for journalism and stuff, because of this whole New York thing. See, 'cause the reporter dude had a whole bunch of first-hand accounts of the incident. So, one of his witnesses was this real fine waitress and she told the reporter dude, that this real badass guy with mad ninja skills and a helmet with horns had like attacked the city with blue lasers and monstrous aliens. And I was all like, damn! 'Cause I never heard anything about this before. I guess this just goes to show ya how slow news travels in the San Quentin prison."

 _…_ _Well, this explains why Wong was so quick to get out of here._

The man had spewed all of his irrelevant story out in a matter of seconds and it left the giant room of people absolutely stunned. Stark rubbed his head, looking at a loss for words. "Okay…just…what the hell was that?"

Pepper shrugged her shoulders. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Well, I have a newfound respect for Lang," Nebula said more to herself then anything.

Gamora sitting right next to her sister of course heard her. "Oh?"

Nebula nodded. "Anyone who has to deal with him," she pointed in Luis's direction, "deserves it."

"Yeah," Quill said in agreement and then he looked at Loki. "And do you still seriously think that _I_ am the most annoying guy in existence when there's this dude?"

Loki nodded his head slowly. "You have a valid point." He glanced at Quill and told him, "I'll get back to you."

Luis either had no idea that he was being talked about in such a negative light or he simply was too busy walking around the room looking at the people in awe, because he made no comments about what anyone had just said. Instead he said, "Wow! You guys are like the Avengers! And some other peeps I don't know." He motioned at the Guardians. "Are you like new members or part of some super-secret B team group?"

Quill quickly spun around to face the man, looking just a little offended. "Excuse me, did you just say "B team"? We are not a B team. Hell, the Avengers practically begged for our help."

"Yeah, that never happened," Stark muttered.

"I agree with Quill," Drax said from where he stood nearby Thor and Steve. "We are not a _bee_ team. Do we look like a team of winged insects with stingers?"

" _Drax!_ " Quill cried in disbelief.

"What?" Well, Drax taking everything literal at least was consistent.

Rocket huffed, "In answer to the obnoxious talker guy's question, we're not part of the Avengers. We have our own little dumb group and we are just here to help them out."

Luis nodded, understanding. "Okay. Cool." As he walked back to where Scott was he whispered, "Like you see a tiny talking raccoon, right?"

Scott half smirked. "Yeah."

"Dude!" Luis said, chuckling. "Like that is so freaky, man!"

"Isn't it though?" Ned said in agreement.

Rocket glared at both of them but before he could say anything, the door once again opened up and an African American girl strolled causally into the room with a backpack slung over her arm. She had an air of indifference around her, which was interesting considering she was clearly one of the few survivors post Thanos's snap and she was walking into a room full of superheroes. "M.J.!" Peter greeted with a wave.

Ned greeted her too but instead said, "Michelle."

The girl nodded to them, threw her bag down, and sat herself down in one of the empty chairs. "Hey losers. Can't believe I'm going to say this but, I'm glad you're not dead."

Stark glanced at Peter. "Are you absolutely sure that she is your friend?" Peter nodded his head, apparently not understanding that friends usually don't call their friends "losers".

M.J. sighed to herself, looking incredibly bored. "The guy with the red cloak said that the Avengers were here. And others." After all of the newcomers and there overly zealous and excited behaviors, this quiet behavior was a welcomed breath of fresh air. At least for Loki.

"Strange the wizard," Quill told her, "and we're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Master of the mystic arts," M.J. corrected.

"Huh?" Quill said, not hearing her.

M.J. huffed, "The guy in the red cloak said he was a master of the mystic arts, not a wizard."

Quill shrugged. "Same difference."

"Maybe so, but that's what he wants to be called so I have an obligation to respect his wishes. So do you. I mean," she paused only long enough to glance over at the Guardians, "your friends are clearly not from this planet but I'm not going to call them aliens because do you know how instinctive that is?"

"Um-"

"Is being a little political correct that difficult for you?"

Quill, for the first time, looked a loss for words. "Well, I guess I never thought-"

M.J. was quick to interrupt. "You never thought about it? How come? Is there some part of your brain that doesn't allow you to think?" After Quill was quiet for about thirty seconds, clearly not knowing what to say, M.J. started laughing. "I'm just kidding. I don't care if you can think or not."

Valkyrie chuckled, "I like her."

Loki muttered, "That's the first thing we agree on."

Peter got M.J.'s attention back onto him. "Look, M.J., I'm sure you have a lot of questions." M.J. took a breath and calmed down from her laughing at Quill. "And…I guess I should just start by saying," he cleared his throat almost nervously, "I'm Spider-Man."

M.J. stared at him for half a second and then said very matter-of-factly, "Oh, I know already."

" _You what?!_ " Peter and Ned both asked slash yelled at the same time.

M.J.'s causal expression didn't fall. "Yeah. For a while now."

Peter was a mixture of complete shock and almost frustration. "But-you…just, _how?_ "

The teen girl unzipped her grungy backpack, pulled out a blue spiral, flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for, and turned the open spiral to show all of them. She read them the caption at the top of the page, " _'List of coincidences slash reasons that means Peter Parker is more than likely Spider-Man.'_ " Then she threw the spiral at Peter, who caught it easily. "Here, knock yourself out."

Peter glanced at her and then eyed the list of coincidences and reasons. Ned and Shuri read them over Peter's shoulder. Ned then muttered, "Wow, she even knew when you left for Germany."

"Exactly how did you know all of this stuff?" Shuri questioned M.J.

Peter crossed his arms, waiting expectedly for M.J. to answer the young princess. "Yeah," Ned said, mirroring Peter. "Did you stalk him or something?"

M.J. rolled her eyes. "No. I'm just observant. And it's not my fault that you were talking too loud in gym class about stealing Captain America's shield."

Peter closed his eyes and sighed, "Damn." You had to feel sorry for the kid who just could not seem to catch a break when it came to keeping his secret identity a secret. "Well, M.J. these are-"

"I know who they are and those I don't know I'll meet soon enough."

With that being said, the door opened one last time. Wong came into the room, followed by Strange who was leading in a woman dressed in doctor's scrubs. "Christine," Strange said to the woman. "These are the Avengers and the Guardians."

All Christine could do was stare at everyone with her mouth opened. She blinked her eyes a few times, as if to see if she was really seeing what she was in fact seeing. Once she was satisfied that she could trust her senses, she turned to Strange and muttered, "Stephen, I thought that you starting this whole magic cult thing was going to be the craziest our life would ever get…but… _wow_."

Strange chuckled and addressed the whole group. "Everyone, this is Dr. Christine Palmer. My girlfriend."

"Are you as cryptic with her as you are with everyone else?" Loki asked sarcastically.

Christine suddenly recognized Loki and began to say, "Wait, isn't that-?"

But Strange was quick to interrupt and to put her mind at ease. "Yeah, but he's on our side now."

With all the introductions of the day out of the way and with Strange and Wong back, most of the people who had been sitting started to get up. Now came the part where they could all do whatever it was they needed to do to prepare. But before Stark or the dear Captain could give any orders, Natasha went over to where Strange stood with his arm around his girlfriend and asked, "You found Laura alright?"

Strange nodded his head. "Yes. She and Agent Barton are with their children now."

Steve slightly smiled. "Good." Then as an afterthought, he said, "What about Sharon?"

Wong shook his head, solemnly. "I went to her last known address…I saw no sign of her."

Steve appeared troubled by this, so Bucky patted his friend on the back. He quietly said, "Tough break, Steve."

Steve shook his head, perhaps surprised that he was so affected by knowing that this Sharon person was trapped in the Soul World. "I barely even knew her. If I'm being honest with myself, I think I only really liked her because of who her aunt was. But still…" The dear Captain's words trailed off until he was just staring at the floor.

"Speaking of aunts," Peter said, sounding awkward for having to break the silence. "Dr. Strange were you able to find my Aunt May?"

Strange sucked in a deep breath and then suddenly looking very weary, he slipped his arm away from Christine. Loki knew what Strange was going to say before he even had a chance to say it. But then again, the Doctor had never been any good with hiding many secrets from him. "Peter…I went to your aunt's apartment but…"

Peter understood Strange's quiet tone too. "Oh, my God." The boy's eyes had widened to the size of saucers but this time, there was no sign of his usual cheeriness. "She's gone? No. No. She can't be."

Stark tried to reach for Peter. "Kid-"

Peter was quick to avoid Stark's hand and suddenly he was pacing around the room in a small circle. "That means she's all alone in the Soul World. What if there are more of those giant monsters or snakes? What is she going do? How is she supposed to survive?"

"Kid, listen to me." Stark finally succeeded in grabbing Peter by the arm and halting him. "Everything is going to be fine. Okay?"

" _No_." Stark flinched backwards at Peter's fierceness as if he had been struck. In fact he looked almost scared of the boy's sudden burst of fear and anger. "How can you say that? Don't you get it? She's the only family I have left. _The only_ family that I have left."

Stark opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Loki finally stood up and walked over to the boy. After what the dear boy had done for him so recently, he felt obligated to try and help him in the same way. "Look," he started in as comforting of a voice as he could muster. "There is no point in projecting the worse in this. All we can do is prepare for Thanos's arrival. Alright?"

Peter seemed to be somewhat consoled by this and calmed down slightly. He then glanced down at the floor, his expression filled with despair. It was scary to see the boy who was always filled with such life to be so beaten down. It was during moments like this, that Loki's hatred for Thanos was reaffirmed. Stars, how he hated the mad Titan. Peter sniffed and quietly said, "Okay. Preparing. Right, sure, I gotta prepare." He nodded to himself and left the room in a rush. Ned and M.J. were quick to run after him.

"I wouldn't have expected you to be good with kids," Stark muttered to Loki after a few seconds of dreary silence.

"Yeah," Loki said, glancing over at him. "You either."

Stark nodded in agreement but he didn't say anything else. He was clearly worried about the boy and he clearly had no idea about how to help him. After a moment Thor spoke up. "We should prepare."

Steve nodded and addressed the group. "I agree. Rest up or whatever else you need to do."

"Then we can see about getting that pizza," Shuri added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well," T'Challa sighed, "at least something to eat."

"Hey," Stark started, glancing at Loki again, "Peter said something about his suit not working and you making it disappear."

Loki nodded. "Right. I can bring it back for you."

"Good, but not here. Let's go to Shuri's lab." Stark then went up to his friend and patted his arm. "Happy, make yourself comfortable but don't get yourself lost."

"When have I ever gotten myself lost?" Happy asked, sounding slightly offended.

Stark hesitated and then finally settled on saying, "You really don't want me to answer that, buddy." Happy frowned and started to head for the door, but he paused waiting for Pepper.

But Pepper didn't notice because she was slightly eyeing Stark with an almost sad expression. She didn't want to leave him and she definitely didn't want him to leave her. After a few seconds of the couple staring into each other's eyes, Pepper finally sighed, "Go do what you need to do. I understand."

Stark gave her a quick one-armed hug and smiled tiredly. "Thanks. I swear, I will make all of this up to you."

Pepper chuckled, "Oh, I'm counting on it."

Stark smiled again but then he quickly tried to go back to being the co-leader of the Avengers. He headed towards the door, motioning Loki to follow him, and called over his shoulder, "You coming Bruce?"

Bruce muttered, "I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold your horses."

"We have no horses to hold," Drax said.

Quill hid his face in his hands. "Grrr…"

Everyone was standing and slowly migrating towards the door to leave. It was established that Loki, Stark, and Bruce would go to Shuri's lab to see Peter's malfunctioning suit. T'Challa and Shuri would see about what they could do about getting some food and probably a more comfortable place to sleep. Everyone else was left to their own devises but most of them planned to take it easy and prepare. Nebula grabbed onto Loki's arm as they left the decorative room behind. " _Please_ don't leave me with these morons."

Loki smirked. "You're more than welcome to come along."

"Yeah," Nebula said with a slight smile, but she slowly started to shake her head. "I really should rest up though and look at some of my internal wiring. I had a lot of malfunctions in the Soul World." Loki nodded, understanding but he almost felt…disappointed. He wasn't sure why, he had been apart from her before. Not that he liked it though…

Valkyrie suddenly felt it necessary to announce, "Well, I'm leaving before we diverge into another diversion of diverging."

Drax nodded his head and said, "Understandable."

Quill about blew up on him. "What-you…you understood _that_?! Are you kidding me?"

Just about everyone chuckled at Quill's overreaction. Gamora let out a deep breath and told Stark, "I think we'll need that aspirin now."

Bruce and Stark started heading for Shuri's lab and Loki hesitantly parted ways with Nebula but then he remembered something he had been contemplating, so he stood in the hallway waiting for Wanda to come out of the crowded room.

He heard parts of the over's conversations as they left. "I am Groot?" the small tree asked Rocket.

Rocket yawned and said, "No, I'm _not_ tired. But you should get some shut eye."

"I am Groot?"

"Because you're a teenager, that's why."

Scott piped in with, "I'm not a teen but boy do I need to sleep."

"Tired daddy?" Cassie asked from his side.

"A bit, Peanut."

Wong was walking next to Strange, continuously giving him sideways glances. "You seem a bit under the weather, Stephen."

"I'm fine," Strange muttered.

Christine snorted, "Not my diagnoses."

Finally, after the crowd seemed to thin out a bit, Wanda came out of the room. She seemed to know that he was waiting for her. "Something on your mind, Loki?"

He chuckled, "Sort of." With a wave of his hands he conjured up those two spell books that his mother had given him all that time ago. He ran his hand over the navy blue cover, remembering the first time he saw these two books. "Here," he said finally handing them to Wanda. "I thought you could look through them if you wanted to."

Wanda's mouth fell open in surprise. She shook her head. "Loki these were your mother's, I can't take them."

"Oh, sure you can." He dropped the two heavy books into her arms. "Besides you wanted to learn magic and these two books are the key to doing so."

Wanda glanced at the books and then back up to Loki. She nodded, figuring there was no point in arguing with Loki. But there was a new look in her eye. A sort of determination to do well. "I'll look through them."

The way she uttered those few words reminded Loki of how he had promised to make his mother proud. And he had no doubt that Wanda would do wonders with magic.

He smiled. "Good. See you later?"

"Of course."

And with that, the two friends parted ways.

…

With a flick of his hand, Loki had made the Spider-Man's Iron Spider suit reappear on one of the silver tables. Bruce shook his head. No matter how many times he saw Loki use his magic, he still managed to be impressed by it. Tony seemed to be impressed too. A bit excitable even, despite recent events. "Man, I wish I could do that," Tony said, as he walked up to the malfunctioning suit and started running diagnostics with his phone. "You know how much money I spend on storage units? I could just use some weird hocus pocus stuff and keep all my junk safe and sound with no hassle. How 'bout it, Reindeer Games? Wanna teach me a little of your wizardry stuff too?"

Loki crossed his arms and shook his head. "I only teach one person at a time and no offense Stark, I can't believe you with your science background would be interested in learning _magic_."

"I can't believe you have storage units," Bruce said with a small smile. "You would think a billionaire would have enough room in his home to store all of his things."

Tony half glared at him. "I'm going to ignore what you just said for the time being." He then focused his attention back on the suit and Loki. "Isn't magic just science that we don't understand yet?"

" _No,_ " Loki said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And whoever said that is the biggest idiot in the galaxy."

Bruce glanced over at him. "I think Thor said it once."

"Yes, well, he's an oaf. I'm not that surprised."

Tony's phone dinged off to signal that the diagnostics were finished running. He ran his fingers over the phone's screen and read the results. "Ah…the whole circuit board is shot. That's why the kid's suit didn't work. I'm going to have to rewire most of everything and reboot the whole thing."

"Great," Bruce muttered, slipping on his glasses. "A several hour, tedious process. Good thing we got about thirteen and half hours to kill."

Loki scoffed at that, crossed his arms, and turned around so he was facing the window. Bruce glanced over worryingly at him before focusing on the suit. He wasn't blind. He could tell Loki was trying to revert back to how he had been at the beginning of this mess, sarcastic, a bit of an ass, but mostly, reserved with his emotions. It was really easy to blame Clint for this, and a part of him did, but there were more important things to do then blame the archer for being an idiot. He just hoped that Loki would soon realize that nothing had changed, that he could still be himself around the others.

"Um, Reindeer Games? What are you doing?"

Bruce glanced up, saw that Tony's gaze was pointed behind him, and turned around. Loki had moved from his spot in front of the window to the identical table a few feet away. This only was important because this was where they had laid Vision after the battle with Thanos. To see the android void of color and void of all life was like a sucker punch in the gut. Loki walking over to the table to glance at the body wasn't what Tony had been asking about though. Loki had brought up the clear screen attached to the side of the table and appeared to be running a scan over the android.

"Just checking something," Loki muttered. The screen dinged that the scan was done. "The results say that there are still two working systems."

Bruce shared a glance with Tony and then they both walked over to Loki. Bruce read the results that were clearly written on the screen and they did in fact say that there were two working systems available in Vision. He rubbed chin confused. "J.A.R.V.I.S. and Ultron… The systems _are_ still working?"

Tony read the results and then shrugged. "Makes sense. We uploaded everything to the body and the systems had been fully able to work by themselves. The Stone was just needed to power it. And of course, there was Thor jump starting the whole thing with his lightning. And then wham, bam, Vision was created." He paused for a moment. "And if the code is still working…"

Bruce raised his eyebrows at the two men. "You think-?"

Loki interrupted, "That if we got the Mind Stone, placed it back in his head, and have Thor use his lightning again it would bring the Vision back to life? Yes. Yes, I do."

Bruce was amazed. It made complete sense, but he hadn't even considered how simple it would actually be to bring Vision back. "How did you know?"

Loki powered down the screen and placed it back on the side of the table. "I forgot to mention this before because of everything else, but when I was in the afterlife plane talking with that woman, the Ancient One, she said that if the stone brought the Vision to life once…maybe it could do it again."

Bruce nodded. "Wow. You're really on a roll."

Loki shrugged him off. "It's nothing." Bruce hated how disheartened Loki sounded. That just wasn't him.

Tony sighed, "Well, at least we know that our priority is the Mind Stone." As Tony began to walk back to where Peter's suit lay, he continued to look at Loki. Apparently he had something on his mind. "You know, you're not even from this planet and yet you just picked up how to use the technology so fast."

Loki shrugged like it was nothing again. "I'm a fast learner." A slight mischievous smile spread over his lips. "Besides, I do have more years of experience in the field of science then the both of you put together. Try about twelve hundred years to be exact."

Bruce nodded, happy to see a little bit of the trickster still there. "There is that."

Tony chuckled, "Yeah. There's that. You know, you'd make a great addition to the Science Bros."

Loki's smile disappeared and instead his eyebrows scrunched together confused. "The what?"

Bruce felt a headache start to come on. "It's…it's not-it's what he calls us."

Loki gave both of them an odd look. "Okay…Um, I think I'll just go see how Wanda is doing with the books I gave her." He nodded to both of them and then quietly left the room.

It was during moments like this that Bruce wished that he was a psychiatrist. He felt less than useless when it came to helping Loki, he couldn't even begin to imagine all of the complex emotions he was feeling after everything he had been through. Tony shook his head. "He is being very reserved. Like a lot. Like so much so, it's getting scary now."

Bruce focused back on the suit on the table, but he shook his head too. "What did you expect? After Barton's blow up…"

"By the way, h-how are you? You all better now?"

"Am I going to Hulk out?" Tony nodded his head. "No, I'm not. There was a brief moment when I felt the other guy wanting to crush Barton's skull but now I'm in control." He glanced up to see a fretting Tony and rolled his eyes. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You always do this Tony. You feel the guilt of things you should not feel guilty for. Don't feel guilty about me and certainly don't feel guilty about Loki."

Tony glanced at the suit and then let out a deep sigh. "I didn't see it, Bruce. I didn't see what was really going on."

Bruce finally met his gaze and saw how much he was beating himself up over this. He stood by what he had originally thought, the only person who should be beating himself up was Clint. So, he patted Tony's shoulder sympathetically and said, "But you do now and that's all that is important."

…

Clint was lost in a deep thought. It's the kind of thought that a person has when they know the answer to a problem but they are so invested in dwelling on how the problem started in the first place. The problem? He had been a total douchebag to Loki about New York and Thanos when in reality, Loki had been forced to do everything. The answer to this problem? He had to apologize and make this right. And the dwelling? Well, since Bruce nearly Hulked out on him and told him everything about Loki being mind-controlled, he was rethinking all of his interactions with the God of Mischief in a new light.

"It's such a relief," Laura said, snapping him back to reality. "To think that a few days ago, we were all alone."

Clint half smiled. He supposed that this was the only good thing to come out of the day. He had left the others to make sure his kids were okay with T'Challa's mother after Thanos's two enforcers visited and he stayed with them until Dr. Strange brought Laura to them. Ramonda had left them to reunite in private but Clint could just imagine what they must have looked like. A joyful, tearful family back together again. After some catching up with Laura and Laura catching up with the kids, she insisted on all three of them going to bed. Cooper and Lila protested, of course, but after a five minute discussion they both decided that maybe they were a bit tired after all.

They were now all in a cushy room, Laura constantly checking on their sleeping children making sure they didn't disappear again. Clint stood from his chair and pulled his wife closer to the door so that they could talk without waking the kids. He held both of her hands and gave them both a slight squeeze. "I'm sorry I had to leave you at the safe house."

Laura smiled softly. "Don't apologize. You saved our children."

"With some help of course."

"Oh, of course. Remind me to thoroughly thank the rest of the Avengers and these colorful Guardians of the Galaxy."

Clint tried to stay happy, to stay relieved that his family was back together and safe…but his guilt kept creeping in on him. "Laura, I think I may have made a mistake."

Laura raised an eyebrow at him. " _"_ You think _"_? Oh, boy. I know you better then you know yourself. If you _think_ you made a mistake then you _did_ make a mistake."

He pulled away from her and started pacing, lost back in his thoughts. "You remember me talking about Loki and the attack on New York?"

"Which lead to the Avengers first assembling? Yes, of course I do."

"He's here you know. Loki." This was not news to Laura, as Lila had bragged about how he had healed her leg. "I couldn't believe it at first. Then I couldn't believe that the team trusted him. I thought they had gone crazy. After the whole Soul World journey, I started to see what they saw. A reformed guy. But then…I made some pretty nasty comments when I found out that he had worked with Thanos. Then Bruce straightened me out and…" He stopped pacing and faced Laura head on. "Laura, Loki was under the same mind control that I was under. Nothing that went down in New York was his fault. And I said all of those things…"

"I assume it was something the opposite of nice."

He started to chuckle humorlessly. "Yeah. I said he deserved whatever punishment Thanos had planned for him." He sighed deeply and shook his head. If he could change one thing about his personality it would be, to be less of a hothead. "God, I am an idiot. You didn't see the look on his face. The pain, the fear. My God…who knows what he went through?"

Laura was silent for a few minutes before asking her husband, "Have you thought about talking to him?"

"And say what? I'm sorry I was a big asshole?"

Laura looked at him as if it were obvious. "Yes."

Clint felt even more like an idiot than before. Here he was trying to come up with some elaborate way to apologize for what he had said to Loki, when it really was just that simple. "Yeah," he said as he nodded his head. "Maybe when things calm down. I'll make it right."

Laura walked up to him and slipped her arms around his midsection. As she rested her head against his chest, Clint held her back and she softly said, "I know you will."

…

Loki slowly walked through the hallways, searching for Wanda. He felt that he should get some rest, but giving the dear girl a few pointers on magic seemed to trump everything else at the moment. And there was a part of him that wanted to tell her about what the Ancient One had told him and what he, Bruce, and Stark had just learned about Vision. It seemed very likely that if they managed to steal back the Mind Stone, Vision could be brought back.

But…what if they were wrong?

He absolutely did not want to raise Wanda's hopes if it turned out to be impossible to bring Vision back. Or worse, he did not want her getting herself killed by trying to take the Mind Stone from the most powerful being in existence.

Then again, literally all of his friends were probably going to get themselves killed trying to follow Stark's outlandish plan.

He turned down a corridor that he had not been down before and soon the hallway abruptly opened up into a very large, decorative, and oddly, empty room. By the mere fact that there only a few chairs and one silver, finely designed table, it was clear that this room was a meeting room for only the "figure heads" of Wakanda. Probably for T'Challa to meet with the leaders of the Wakandan tribes.

Wanda stood over the table and had she not been so entranced by the two open books, she would have seen Loki come into view. Instead, she focused on her reading. She suddenly glanced over at a paperweight that sat on the table's surface a few inches away from her. She raised her hand out, as if to pick it up, but she stopped and instead closed her eyes.

Loki had already stopped walking because he hadn't wanted to disturb her in the middle of such deep concentration and now he was just curious to see what she was doing.

 _Well, the first thing a person learns in traditional magic is conjuring but there is no way she could already be ready to-_

He had had no doubt that Wanda would be able to do great things with magic, but he had not expected her to be able to learn how to conjure on her first day of learning. But, sure enough, she slightly twisted her hand and the paperweight disappeared and then reappeared in her hand with a flash of shimmering magenta magic.

Loki was thoroughly impressed. "Very good!"

Wanda looked up startled. "Oh, hey." She glanced at the paperweight and half shrugged, as Loki made his way into the room. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It was so close to me."

Loki shook his head, brushing this off. "It doesn't matter if the object you conjure is only a few feet away from you or not even within sight. To do so properly and so quickly, which you did, is a great first step."

"First step indeed," Wanda muttered, as she set the paperweight back down beside the book. Her eyes continued to scan over the thin, creamy pages. "Conjuring objects is the easiest thing to do with traditional magic."

He chuckled. "Everyone has to start somewhere. Now let's try something a bit more difficult." Wanda nodded her head eagerly. "Think of an object you would like to conjure. Okay?" Wanda nodded again. "Now close your eyes," she did, "and don't think about the object, feel what it would be like in your hands." Wanda sucked in a deep breath and let it out. She stood perfectly still for about five seconds before she twisted her hand and conjured up one of Loki's daggers.

Wanda opened her eyes and beamed. "I wondered how you did that." She twirled the dagger around, mimicking how he usually did when he was anxious. "You don't mind if I steal a dagger of yours, or maybe two?"

Loki smirked. "Very funny. But you get the idea now. So, let's continue."

After about a half hour had passed, it was clear that Wanda had mastered conjuring. The table was filled with Loki's daggers except for the spot where Wanda was sitting, several mismatching chairs were scattered throughout the room, and Wanda had even successfully conjured the coffee-maker from the Avengers Headquarters. The room must have been a sight to see. And then someone muttered, "What the hell?" Loki and Wanda both saw Sam walking around the chairs looking confused. His confusion continued to grow when he saw the table with all of Loki's daggers. "Where did all of these daggers and stuff come from?"

Loki, proud of his student, exclaimed, "Miss Maximoff is brilliant at conjuring and only after about half an hour of lessons. Strange and I may not see eye to eye on most things but he was right about you being well suited to practice magic."

"You'll have to excuse my teacher, Sam," Wanda said chuckling. "He keeps showering me with praise."

"Well, it has been greatly earned."

Wanda smiled at Loki and then looked over at Sam. "What did you need Sam?"

Sam stopped glancing around at all the random chairs in the room. "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to let you know that, I guess, supper is being served in some dining hall. You know, if you wizard folks eat that kind of thing."

Wanda shrugged. "I could eat."

Loki nodded. "It would be best if you took a break and persevered your energy."

"I don't feel drained, but then again conjuring is the easiest thing to do in magic." Wanda glanced over at her two books again and shut them, getting ready to leave.

Loki turned to leave as well and saw a somewhat strange sight: Sam appeared conflicted, like he was contemplating on what to do. He finally started to say, "Um, hey…Loki, I just wanted to say sorry for spilling the beans to Clint about you, uh…working for, I mean, well you know. The whole thing with Thanos." He paused and hesitantly placed his hand on Loki's shoulder. "Sorry."

Loki couldn't help but stare at Sam's hand on his shoulder. Sam was a nice guy, slightly annoying at times, but nice enough. However, Loki never considered him and Sam as the close type of friends, or even acquaintances, to give each other a pat on the shoulder or the back. They hadn't really formed that _real_ of a relationship. Loki called him an annoying little man and Sam made little quips while calling him "the God". That was about it. But now… Loki finally blinked away from the hand on his shoulder. "It's perfectly fine. I don't hold you responsible."

"Really?" Sam said, clearly taken aback by this. "Because I think you should. If I haven't been an absent minded idiot and said that then-"

"Then Agent Barton would have learned about it soon enough. Besides, you didn't make Barton say those things."

"Well, no…I don't agree with what he said. Just to let you know. I mean, I know I was giving you a hard time before and everything but…I thought you were helping us out pretty good." He paused again before saying again, "I _really_ don't agree with what Clint said. And neither does anyone else."

Loki felt that now usual surprise he felt every time someone said something even remotely close to being in an accepting and genuine tone. Then again, he was back to being unsure of himself, so why was he even surprised that he was back to not believing that anyone in their right minds could accept him? "Thank you, Sam. That is very good to know."

Sam nodded. The air between them felt different now, it was like they were burying the hatchet of petty arguments and they could move forward with a bit more respect for each other. Then the air felt a little awkward because Sam's hand was still on his shoulder. And they weren't _that_ close yet. Sam cleared his throat. "I think I'll take my hand off of your shoulder now."

"I think that is best." The two men slightly chuckled and then Sam was on his way. Loki turned back to Wanda who was still sitting on the table smiling at him. "You coming or not?"

"I'm coming." She hoped down and they started to walk together. "Good to see you and Sam on better ground. But on to other matters, when can I start learning the advanced stuff? Like shields and healing things?"

You had to admire her enthusiasm. "Well, even for the most advanced student, I would say only after _at least_ a few weeks of mastering all of the beginning chapters."

Wanda snapped her fingers and said disappointedly, "Darn."

He chuckled and then assured her, "It's alright. Everyone does have to start somewhere."

…

Loki wasn't an idiot. He could see that ever since Barton's big blow-up, everyone else had been acting differently around him. From the moment he let himself get talked into coming back by Peter, Shuri, Mantis, and Groot, he had felt the concerned glances of nearly everyone around him. And the ones who weren't staring at him like he was about to break, were avoiding looking at him all together as if ashamed. Then there was the big kicker: Stark had called him "Loki" instead of his usual nickname for him.

 _"_ _Look, Reindeer Games, uh, Loki…we just wanted to say-"_

Whatever Stark had wanted to say on behave of the entire room was interrupted by Captain Carol Danvers's message. And then Thane and Super Giant happened… There was so much more important things to worry about, but every once and a while during the day he would think about it and wonder, why were the others acting so odd around him? The soft, worried looks continued for the rest of the time he was with the whole group. He thought maybe he could get away from it when he went with Bruce and Stark to bring back Peter's suit, but apparently not. And then Sam apologized for something he really had nothing to apologize for.

Odd, very odd indeed.

Now he sat on a black cushioned sofa in yet another large room filled with ornate décor and sleek furniture, watching the others crowd around the dining table trying to get some pizza while it was still fresh. Apparently Strange or Wong had gone and got some. Drax was telling the group that this pizza was like some dish he had on his home world, except instead of a tomato based sauce it was a sauce made from some blue fruit. Scott told his daughter and Luis that ordering pizzas could solve any problems, Hope rolled her eyes at this. Ned and M.J. sat with a silent Peter Parker and appeared to be trying to cheer him up. Valkyrie was talking with the fierce General, who had rejoined the group.

Loki shook his head. They certainly were an odd group of people. But he wouldn't change them. Any of them. Not even the annoying ones…well, maybe Quill. He suddenly felt someone sit down next to him, pulling him out of his thoughts. He had barely turned his head to see who it was, when Nebula bluntly said, "You're being obnoxiously quiet. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He glanced at her and saw that she looked unconvinced. "I'm just observing."

Nebula glanced at the roomful of people and then turned back to Loki. "It's a bunch of superheroes eating. What's there to observe?"

Loki rubbed the back of his neck. "I…maybe I'm just being paranoid-"

"Because you are not above that."

"Yes, thank you. _Now_ _listen_. I get the feeling that, well, they are all acting a bit…odd around me since the whole-"

"Barton being a total bastard thing?"

Loki gave her an annoyed look. "Okay, is this your way of getting back at me for all the times I _accidently_ interrupted you?"

Nebula ignored him and answered the original question. "Maybe they just feel guilty."

"For what?"

She looked at him as if it were obvious. "For not standing up for you after everything you've done to help them."

Loki glanced down at his folded hands in his lap and it thought over. It made a degree of sense, it certainly would explain Sam's apology. Leave it to Nebula to point out the most clear and obvious answer that he was blinded to. She had a knack for that. He looked back over at her and changed the subject. "Are you…are you worried? About tomorrow?"

Nebula took in a deep breath and shook her head. "I have waited over half of my life to kill Thanos. I am not worried about facing him again." She was so fearless. She had been a victim of Thanos's cruelty for a lifetime and she didn't even hesitate with plotting her payback. Loki had only been on the ship for a year and anytime he thought about it his hands began to shake. That was probably his favorite thing about her, her strength. And of course those deep eyes of hers. Nebula suddenly sighed, appearing tired. "But I am worried about what he might try to take from me again."

Loki nodded, understanding. That was something he was concerned about too and it felt like it was eating away at him. He couldn't see the future and see how this all played out, so constantly worrying about it was the only option. Because who knew what was going to happen? In literally a day, everyone he had grown to care about could be snatched away from him. It was a thought that he hated to think about but he couldn't help but think about it. All he could do was watch the Avengers and the Guardians and their friends eat together, enjoying each other's companies and sit with an old friend and hope beyond hope that he would not have to endure anymore losses.

And more importantly, that his old friend wouldn't have to endure anymore losses because she had been through more than enough herself.

…

Their time was passing too quickly. Before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set and everyone went to the rooms T'Challa and Shuri had made up for them. And then it was morning. A bright and crisp morning. It was such a shame that such a beautiful morning was to be ruined by the second battle in a war.

There was a moment where everyone who had been reunited only fifteen hours before had to say their good-byes to their loved ones. Just in case. Peter talked with his friends as if everything was fine, Stark held onto Pepper as long as possible and then patted Happy on the shoulder, Scott made sure his daughter was safe and sound with Luis, Agent Barton kissed his lovely wife and children and promised to be back soon, and Strange parted ways with Christine.

Then it was time to go.

General Okoye, M'Baku, and Wong were tasked to protect those who the Avengers wished to protect. The Dora Milaje and members of the other Wakandan Tribes encircled the city. Bruce stayed behind to continue trying to fix his Hulk Buster suit. Hopefully he would finish in time. And then the Avengers and the Guardians spread out in the fields. Everyone was ready. Swords were un-sheaved, guns were drawn, the dear Captain had his two shields, Thor had his axe, Stark, Rhodey, and Peter all had on their metal suits, Hope was in her black and silver outfit with her wasp wings protruding out of her back, bits of Wanda's scarlet magic danced around her hands, and Loki had his daggers at the ready.

And then the fifteen hours were up.

And then they waited.

And waited…

Loki had started twirling his daggers around and pacing back and forth like a nervous wreck. It was bad enough they had to face Thanos again and it was bad enough they were going to steal back the Infinity Stones for their own Gauntlet, but then to make matters worse the stupid Titan was twenty-two minutes late to the fight that he had promised to restart. That was just wrong on so many levels. "Alright, where is he," he huffed after he couldn't take it anymore. "This waiting is driving me bloody mad."

Hope, with her arms crossed, muttered, "I never took you for the antsy type."

"He's not antsy, he's anxious," Bucky corrected.

"He just gets that way sometimes," Bruce added.

Thor nodded. "Yes, when he doesn't know the outcome of things."

 _Well, I am so glad people listen to me when I talk._

"The last couple of days must have been a nightmare for you," Gamora said to him.

Loki shrugged but didn't stop his twirling or his pacing. "Well, they haven't exactly been good. I mean, there have been a few perks. I guess."

"I'm anxious too," Mantis softly said. She fidgeted her hands together as she stood with the other Guardians. "The last time we fought Thanos it didn't go very well for us."

"Yeah," Peter mumbled in agreement. "And I don't want to turn into dust again."

"Kid, you're going to be fine. We all will be fine," Stark said. Peter did not look, nor anyone else for that matter, that comforted by Stark's words. Stark sighed and tried to be more reassuring. "We have a plan."

Loki scoffed, "A completely rushed, half-assed plan, but sure."

Stark sighed again. "Reindeer Games, you are worse than Cap."

Loki turned to face the man while he continued his pacing. "I'm torn, should I take that as a compliment or as an insult?"

Rhodey threw his hands up in the air. "Why does it have to be either? Why do you always have to be so dramatic?"

"Because drama always seems to follow Loki around," Strange said off from the side.

"Oh, you stay out of this," Loki grumbled. He paused and decided since he was on a roll, why stop there? "But since we are talking about drama, you should change your name to Dr. Secret since you love keeping so many."

Quill scoffed at that and muttered, "You're one to talk." Loki stopped his pacing and glanced back the rugged man.

 _What did he mean by that?_

Quill must have realized that he hadn't meant to say what he had said and quickly tried to change the subject. "I mean, uh, look at the sunrise."

Rocket slapped his hand to his forehead. "Smooth, Quill."

"As saves go, that was not a good one," Sam said.

"Yeah," Scott said nodding. "It really wasn't."

"What _did_ you mean by that?" Loki asked, approaching Quill.

Quill looked over at Loki in surprise and pointed to himself. "What? You talking to me?"

Groot rolled his big brown eyes and said a snotty, "I am Groot."

Quill's jaw dropped. " _Hey!_ "

Both Drax and Mantis quietly chuckled but Rocket burst out laughing. "Oh, man! That was a good one!"

"What did he say?" Natasha asked Quill.

Quill was too busy glaring at the tree to answer. So Gamora sighed and said, "He said Peter shouldn't pretend to be dumb because he usually is most of the time without putting forth the effort."

Drax smiled. "That is quite comical because it is quite true."

Quill sputtered, "No, it's-I'm-"

Loki smirked. "I always liked that tree."

T'Challa suddenly started and held his hand to his ear. "Shuri? Can you repeat that? What? Oh…"

"What is it?" Steve asked, sensing something off.

The young king turned to his companions and said, "Thanos is not coming here."

Everyone started chattering at once.

"That cannot be!" Thor exclaimed.

"Are you saying we got up so freaking early in the morning for nothing?" Valkyrie shouted. Loki rolled his eyes at the woman.

"Are you sure?" Natasha asked.

T'Challa nodded, sadly. "Shuri said she saw heat signatures break into the atmosphere but they are not heading here. They are heading towards St. Louis, Missouri."

" _St. Louis?_ " Barton questioned, looking beyond confused. "Why the hell would Thanos and Co. go to St. Louis of all places?"

Hope shook her head. "Maybe we were wrong. Maybe Thanos is just going to pick fifteen random souls."

"No," Nebula said, forcefully. "No, that's not how he works. He takes pleasure in taking everything away from you. He would not just take random people."

"She's right," Wanda agreed. "And I saw the look in Thane's eyes when he was speaking to us. It's not random."

"Then why are they going to St. Louis?" Rhodey asked. Wasn't that just the question on everyone's minds?

Everyone remained quiet, trying to figure out this bloody new problem, but Quill murmured, "I might know why." The man had lost most of the color in his face.

Stark raised an eyebrow at him. "Quill?"

While everyone waited expectedly for him to answer, Quill seemed to be internally kicking himself. And then he was doing it externally. "Son of a bitch. Son of a…I didn't think…I haven't even been on Earth since 1988! How would Thanos have…? And I didn't think that he was even…" Quill sucked in a breath, balled his fists, and shook his head. He glanced at the group and muttered, "Look…my grandfather used to live in St. Louis."

 _"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

 _Author's Note Again: Grandpa Quill!_

 _Quill forgot about his own grandfather! Well, in his defense, he hasn't been on Earth since 1988. But still…_

 _So, that was the chapter. Pretty exciting, huh? Honestly I don't know, was it?_

 _There were times when writing this chapter when I really liked it and other times where I really didn't so you just let me know what you think. I will admit that I think my favorite moment to write was absolutely when Luis was talking in his "Luis-way" about finding out about the attack in New York. Loved writing for him! All of the "new" characters actually._

 _I want to apologize again for taking almost two months off. In my defense, besides all of the stress of life, my head was just not in the right place to be writing this. I was anticipating the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film. If you have not gone to see this film yet, finish reading this and go see it. Now! It is one of the best Spider-Man movies I have ever seen, not to mention one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. And on top of that, the final season of my favorite TV show, Gotham, was going to be coming out in early January and I couldn't help but think about that._

 _So, in other words, I got sidetracked._

 _Again, I'm not making any promises about when I'll update again, but I am hoping sooner then what it took me this last time. Thank you again for all the reviews and support! You guys make my day and make writing worth wild! Thanks and I hope you have a great day!_

 _P.S. To my friend Samantha: I finally put in that joke about "the ordering a pizza will solve a problem", are you happy?_


	19. Chapter Sixteen

_Author's Note: Okay, so I'm not surprised that it took me awhile again. I am surprised that this chapter is so freaking small. So, I'm sorry that's it's so small, but I have a super-secret surprise for all of you! You'll find out what it is soon, I promise!_

 _So, this chapter isn't about the impending fight with Thanos or about Loki. (Sorry again…) But I feel that it is important that we see what happens to, as the chapter states, those who were left behind. Meaning, those the Avengers wanted to protect. As per usual, I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

 _(P.S._

 _To_ _ **22fwright**_ _, don't worry about not commenting right away, I always enjoy your reviews!_

 _To_ _ **TwilightGlow3**_ _, my friend Samantha goes by Samantha and that is funny considering it is your name too!_

 _To_ _ **Jason Hunter**_ _and_ _ **Fox-X**_ _, yes, I have considered writing a story where the Avengers watch my story to see how Loki has changed. If I ever finish this bloody thing I might just do it! Also are you two friends or the same person or something? Because I swear I got two reviews within hours of each other, one from both of you, asking the same exact question. Freaky…_

 _To the_ _ **Guest**_ _(or Hi Ummm) who told me Hope disappeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp, yes I know she disappeared, but I decided to ignore that part of the movie. This is an AU after all.)_

 _{Double P.S._

 _ **Please**_ _ **do**_ _ **not**_ _talk about Avengers: Endgame in the reviews. I have not seen it yet and I have already gotten a spoiler in a review. Thank you.}_

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 _Chapter Sixteen: Those Who Were Left Behind_

Shuri sat in her lab surrounded by computer screens scrolling with data and anxious people.

The people were of course Dr. Strange's curious friend, Wong, M'Baku, the stern but at times friendly General Okoye, and Peter Parker's two friends, Ned and M.J. The others that the Avengers had wanted to protect were in a different, larger sitting room with Shuri's mother on the east side of the building. Everyone had, not surprisingly, been worried while waiting for the arrival of Thanos and his army. But the alien seemed to be fashionably late. Then the screen directly to her left beeped that several large heat signatures were breaking into the atmosphere.

This was it.

Or…was it?

They were heading to the wrong place. Hell, they were on the wrong side of Earth! She zoomed in on the images on her screen and realized that the heat signatures, which had to be ships of some sort, were heading to Missouri. Specifically St. Louis. She quickly informed T'Challa and no sooner had she done this, had the ships made their impact in the Mississippi River nearby the iconic St. Louis Arch.

Now, she was busy running her fingers across the screen pulling up all the information she could on what was happening in Missouri while the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy were trying to figure out why Thanos had gone to St. Louis of all places. Then it was revealed why when the rugged leader of the Guardians told everyone in the field that his grandfather used to live there. The five other people in Shuri's lab could hear this as well because the radio communication systems were online.

"Why didn't he say anything? Now our whole plan has been compromised," Wong said to himself in a slight tone.

One thing Shuri had picked up about Wong was that he was a man of few words and of even fewer emotions. Tony Stark on the other hand… You could just hear the sheer frustration and irritation in his voice when he said, _"You dumb bastard."_ Clearly he was speaking to Peter Quill.

Quill started to say, _"Look-"_

Mr. Stark was quick to interrupt. _"What is it with you and screwing up all of our plans?"_

" _Hey, I didn't screw-what do you mean_ plans _?"_

" _First Titan, now this!"_

Captain Steve Roger tried to calm his friend. _"Tony-"_

But Quill and Mr. Stark both seemed like they weren't ready to be civil just yet. _"Dude,"_ Quill said sounding just a little pissed off. _"You can't blame me for this time!"_

" _Oh really? 'Cause last time I checked, Thanos was in St. Louis to get_ your _grandfather who_ you _left off of the damn list!"_

" _Guys!"_ Agent Romanoff interjected. It did little good.

" _I already told you!"_ Quill yelled. _"I hadn't been thinking! I-"_

" _Not thinking?"_ Mr. Stark asked sarcastically. _"Yeah, sure. That's just your go to thing, isn't it?"_

" _Listen here you-!"_

Quill's girlfriend, Gamora, suddenly shouted, _"Enough! This is not helping! We have too much at stake here, so the both of you just shut up!"_

There was a few seconds of silence before the funny man named Scott said, _"I agree with everything that the green lady said."_

In turn, Scott's girlfriend, Hope, snapped, _"Scott, now is not the time!"_

Quill had seemed to calm down and was muttering to himself miserably. _"How did Thanos even know where he was? It makes no since…"_

" _It's a mystery,"_ Captain Barnes started, _"but I think we'll have to figure it out later because we need to-"_

" _It's because of me."_ Shuri had to wrack her brain on whose voice that was. It was a female's voice that much was clear but it seemed so distorted over the radio. It almost sounded mechanical- _oh_ …wait. It was Gamora's sister and Loki's friend, Nebula.

" _What?"_ Gamora asked.

Nebula was quiet for a second before saying in a rush, _"Thanos, when he captured me he wanted to know all about the people you spent your time with. I remembered that you said Quill used to live in a place called Missouri…You have to understand that under normal circumstances I would never give that monster any information but he-"_

" _Nebula,"_ Loki said in a soft voice. _"It's not your fault."_ Shuri half smiled despite all of the craziness going on, because wasn't that just like Loki? To reassure his friend in a time of need. He was such an old softy.

The crabby raccoon agreed with Loki. _"He's right."_ A second passed. _"And Stark's right. It's Quill's fault."_

Quill snapped, _"You are such a freakin' trash panda."_

Well, that was certainly an unusual insult. But Rocket seemed very agitated by it all the same. _"Hey, why don't you get down here and say that to my face!"_

" _Guys! Not helping!"_ Colonel Rhodes yelled, trying to get everyone back on track, though it seemed to do little good. That was the problem with having a group of such passionate people working together, they were prone to get sidetracked and yell a lot.

M'Baku stood nearby where Shuri sat, leaning against his staff. "They know that we can hear them, right?" he said after a few more minutes of listening to the superheroes bicker. General Okoye rolled her eyes and wasted no time in glaring him down. M'Baku just shrugged at her response. "What? It's just a question."

Shuri shook her head as the news reports from St. Louis just continued to pour in with seemingly no intention of stopping anytime soon. You would think with half the journalists of the world gone, there wouldn't be so many but that wasn't the case. "They have bigger things to worry about. Look…" She motioned to her screens. "The invasion it's…it's already begun."

Already, the damage was fierce. A couple dozen buildings were set ablaze, the city was sent into a frenzy, the remaining civilians were fleeing for some sort of shelter. St. Louis was a war zone. "It's like the attack in New York all over again," Ned muttered to himself, in a sort of quiet shock. And M.J., who seemed so unfazed by everything, also stared at the screens in disbelief.

"Brother!" Shuri said, a bit too loud and too panicky. "The media is going wild with the news of St. Louis. It looks…bad."

" _St. Louis is already under attack,"_ T'Challa informed the others, in a ridiculously calm voice.

" _Change of plans then,"_ Captain Rogers said, taking control of the situation. _"Thanos took his vendetta against us to innocent people. We must go. We must stand and fight. Protecting civilians is our new priority."_

Mr. Stark started to mutter to himself, _"We wouldn't be in the mess if-"_

" _Oh, will you just drop it!"_ the woman named Valkyrie shouted. Shuri heard Okoye half chuckle beside her. Loki was right, those two really did get along.

" _Alright, is it too hard to ask everyone to just calm down? We need to keep our heads about us,"_ Thor said, clearly just trying to keep the peace.

" _Amen to that,"_ Sam mumbled.

Mr. Stark sounded exasperated. _"Oh, fine. Bruce? Are you ready or not?"_

Ah, of course. Dr. Banner was still rebooting his Hulk Buster suit along with fixing other minor things so that the suit could be operational again. Banner's voice rang out over the radio. _"The suit isn't finished. It's still a long way from being-"_

Mr. Stark interrupted his friend. _"Yup. That's all I needed to know. Wong, Okoye, and M'Baku will stay with the others like we planned. Bruce you're staying too."_

" _What?"_ Dr. Banner said in shock.

" _Strange, open us up a portal, destination St. Louis,"_ Mr. Stark said, already moving onto the next thing.

" _I can still come,"_ Dr. Banner protested, _"I can still help!"_

Agent Romanoff said, _"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you will get in the way."_

" _Everyone only wants the Hulk, huh?"_ Banner said almost sarcastically. _"You know, I am pretty smart. I can handle myself."_

" _No one is questioning your intelligence, Bruce,"_ Loki said, again trying to sooth a friend. _"We just want to protect our friend."_

Shuri smiled in-spite of herself again. "Awe. He's such a sweetheart." She felt the eyes of the five people in the room drift towards her. Oops… She had not meant to say that out loud. Oh, well.

" _Fine_ ," Dr. Banner said begrudgingly after a moment. " _Go_."

" _Hate to break it to you, Dr. Banner, but we weren't exactly looking for your permission,"_ Wanda quipped.

T'Challa's voice came over the radio again, this time addressing his sister. _"Shuri, I want you to stay here as well."_

"What?!" Oh, there was no way this was going to stand! "No, but, I-"

" _Please, sister,"_ T'Challa pleaded. _"I will worry a whole lot less if I know you are here."_

She sighed. Her mother probably wouldn't want her to go either, so… "Fine. I will be motoring the screens though and let you know any news I hear."

"She's the guy in the chair," Ned said in awe.

M.J. just stared at the chubby boy and corrected him. " _Girl_."

T'Challa spoke to her again. _"Alright. Keep yourself safe."_

"You too," Shuri said softly. The gravity of the stakes suddenly weighed heavily on her.

" _Doctor, whenever you are ready,"_ her brother said to Strange. And then the Avengers and the Guardians left Wakanda together. In a flash they were in St. Louis. The news went crazy at seeing their heroes come to the world's rescue again.

"Please ancestors," Okoye whispered, "keep a watchful eye over them."

Shuri closed her eyes and said a quiet little pray to the ancestors too. She might have been a woman of science, but the "old ways" were simply a part of her. She opened her eyes and got to work. First she turned down the volume on all of the radios and she put in her own ear radio, so she could still hear what was happening with the others. Then she went to checking the media to see where they needed to go. She helped slightly, informing T'Challa about where the biggest fights were happening and that there were civilians trapped in the St. Louis Capitol building, but otherwise the Avengers and Guardians were quite capable by themselves.

After a few minutes of this, Ned broke the silence and Shuri's concentration. "So, are you the only one who does all of the stuff with the computers?"

Shuri half shrugged, "If I get my way, yes."

Ned nodded. "So, besides being a princess, you're the computer genius?"

"I'm _the_ genius."

"I appreciate her modesty," M'Baku joked. Shuri did not have to turn to look at him to know that the man was smirking.

"I blame the trickster god," Okoye said shortly.

Shuri frowned. "Hey, do not blame Loki. I was always, as T'Challa likes to say, too cocky with my intellectual abilities for my own good. But seriously, don't be blaming Loki. He gets blamed unjustly enough as it is."

"You like him, don't you?" M.J. said as she walked around Shuri and her computers.

"Hmm?" Shuri asked, glancing away from her screens for just a second.

"The Loki guy," M.J. clarified. "You like him. I mean, I get why. Sometime I have got to draw a picture of him and Dr. Strange. To draw two people in crisis _and_ who have such defined cheek bones will make one great day." Again, the girl said all of this in a relaxed and almost bored tone. She was quite good at controlling her emotions.

"What do you mean by crisis?" Ned asked.

"What do you mean by the princess _likes_ him?" M'Baku asked, sounding surprised.

Okoye brushed him off. "It's a long story."

M'Baku let out a short, tired sigh. "You work hard to get your fighters together, to keep Wakanda from falling apart, to show Dr. Foster around and then you miss all of the juicy incidents."

"What incidents?" Shuri said, throwing her hands in the air. She finally turned away from her screens to just make eye contact with everyone in the room, except Wong who had slipped out of the room at some point without her knowledge. "There were no incidents. I think he's cute and nice and that's it." Okoye's face was an emotionless mask, clearly to make it crystal clear that she was reserving judgment on this topic, but all M'Baku could do was smirk. "Stop giving me that look." When M'Baku didn't stop she turned to M.J. "Answer Ned's question." Then she got back to work.

Causally, M.J. said, "I can tell when a person's got a lot on their mind. Call it my "super power" if you will. Anyways, if I didn't know any better I'd say that those two masters of the mystic arts are stressed to the max."

"I think you could argue that for every one of these super heroes," M'Baku said, apparently deciding to drop teasing Shuri for the time being. "Every one of us even."

M.J. shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, but it's more with those two for some reason… Hell, I could be totally wrong on this."

Shuri personally thought that M.J. was onto something. After all, she had seen Loki before he had agreed to come back. He had looked and sounded so tired, so conflicted, so… _ashamed_. Her heart went out for the Asgardian Prince and she knew she had helped to convince him that others did in fact care about him, but…she still wished she could've done more. For one, Loki had been a lot quieter when they were preparing for Thanos's arrival. "Quiet" just was not him. She could see him being extremely stressed out after all of this emotional turmoil he had gone through in the last week.

As for Dr. Strange, he seemed troubled and to make matters worse for him, he didn't seem to talk a lot. So whatever was bothering him was just swirling around inside his head. That certainly wasn't healthy.

Yes.

M.J. was definitely onto something. Shuri just didn't know that she should be worried about what was bothering Strange.

…

Wong had slipped out of the young Princess's lab, feeling that he was not helping by just standing there. He was tasked with the job of protecting the Avengers' friends and families, especially Dr. Palmer, Stephen's clever and sweet girlfriend. That's where he was headed to, the large elegant sitting room where the others were when he spotted that man he had had the misfortune to meet, _Luis_. He was walking down the hall towards him and saw him at the same time that Wong saw him. He happily hollered, "Hey! Man, I forgot your name!"

Wong sucked in a deep breath. His sense of duty got him into trouble again. "Oh, for the love of dark charms."

"What did ya say, bro?"

"Nothing." Then he noticed the Lang girl, Cassie, walking beside Luis. That instantly put Wong's mind back at ease. "Hello again," he said to her. She half-heartedly smiled up at him.

"Yeah," Luis started to explain, "see Cassie was all like, we should go see the magic guy who brought us here since Scottie left because he seemed nice. Besides, it just feels safer here with a guy who can make a portal leading to a fast getaway. So, I said sure thing kiddo. And now we're here in this really beautiful hallway."

Wong shook his head at Luis and then focused on Cassie. "And how are you doing today?"

"Fine," the girl said quietly.

Wong smiled sympathetically. "You are worried about your father?" Cassie nodded. "I understand the feeling. Stephen is one of my closest friends and I worry about his safety as well. There is nothing that can be done, but wait…" Cassie nodded again, but did not seem that comforted. "However, in your case," he waved his hand around in a small circle, opening up a small portal, stuck his hand through it, pulled out a thick, hardcover book, and handed it to Cassie, "I would suggest a little reading."

Cassie took the slightly heavy book from him and politely said, "Thank you." Wong nodded his head. Cassie flipped through the first few pages and found them covered in beautiful, detailed watercolors. The little girl's eyes widened with wonder. Luis looked at the book too.

"Holy crap, those pictures moved!" Luis exclaimed. Wong chuckled at the reaction. "This is just like Harry Potter!"

Wong cleared his throat. "Strange has mentioned him before, so have others, but I must ask, who is Harry Potter?"

Luis did a double take. "Who is-yo, ya messin' with me?"

"No."

"Brother," Luis put his arm around Wong's shoulders. "Have we got a lot to explain. So, Harry is like this prodigal son, badass wizard right?"

Wong regretted asking the question already.

…

Laura twiddled her thumbs as she watched Cooper and Lila sit with Cassie on the other side of the richly decorated room. The three were all invested in looking through the book Wong had given Cassie. Said wizard was stuck sitting next to Luis, as Luis jabbered on about Harry Potter. When she wasn't staring in their direction, she would glance at the sleeping Nathaniel beside her. Queen Ramonda sat at a shiny silver desk size table looking fondly at the children too. A couple of Wakanda's female warriors stood around their Queen.

Part of Laura wished to be back at home, at least there she could put herself to work on the chores and not be constantly worrying. Because that's all she could do at this point.

Worry and wait.

She heard a very defined and restless sigh. She glanced up and noticed that the woman named Christine was sitting only a few feet away. She appeared anxious and of course her twitching legs didn't help that appearance. "You okay?" Laura asked.

Christine didn't answer right away, but a few seconds later she suddenly snapped out of her own little world. " _Hmm?_ " She glanced in Laura's direction. "Oh, sure. I'm fine. Just…thinking about all of this insanity."

Laura nodded her head. "The waiting is the hardest part. Your mind starts to wander and you start to envision the worst possible situations."

Christine nodded as well. "You're married to Clint Barton, Hawkeye, right?"

"I am."

"How do you…?" She suddenly stood up and moved to a closer seat, so that they were right across from each other. "Stephen was always reckless… _arrogant_. He never wanted anyone's help when he was a surgeon and though he tries now, he still doesn't except help that easily. I don't doubt that the Avengers will watch his back and that he will watch theirs but…"

Before Laura could think to reply, Pepper Potts said, "You're worried that he wouldn't ask for help when he needs it. You know that he is more than capable but you still think he will get himself killed."

Christine looked bewildered that Pepper had known exactly what she had been thinking. Then it morphed into an understanding that there were others out there who knew what it was like. What it was like to stay at home and get an ulcer waiting. "Yeah."

Pepper weakly smiled. "I understand that exact feeling…It was Christine right?"

"Yes. I know who you are."

"Me too," Laura added. "Clint spoke highly of you before."

Pepper sat down with the other two women and smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress slacks. "Thank you, I didn't know that. I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."

"It's Laura."

"Laura," Pepper repeated, clearly making a mental note to remember it. "It's good to meet you. Both of you."

Laura and Christine both nodded that yes it was nice to meet each other. Then Jane Foster rushed into the room, her hair falling into her face as she did so. She seemed a bit out of breath. "Hey. You guys haven't seen Darcy have you?"

Laura had not met this Darcy girl yet, but she had heard that she was a bit "zany". Pepper shook her head. "No, why?"

Jane brushed her hair out of her face. "I think I lost her."

"On purpose or…?" Luis asked from where he sat, though why was anyone's guess.

Everyone ignored him. Christine asked, "What happened?"

Jane started pacing around the room. "We were going to the lab. We were talking about how amazing Wakandan technology is, or…I was. Darcy kept going on and on about how many songs she recently downloaded. I turned a corner and looked behind me and she had disappeared."

Queen Ramonda stood up and addressed the warrior who had the most authority. "Ayo, have some of the Dora Milaje look for this girl's friend. With everything that has been going on as of late, I do not want to take any chances."

The bald woman nodded curtly. "Yes, my Queen." Then she and another warrior left the room together to start a search party to look for Darcy.

When Jane still hadn't sat down after a few minutes, Laura told her, "Maybe you should sit down. I think they have this under control."

"Yeah." Jane sat on a chair with a black fluffy cushion. "I hate this. Feeling useless."

"You looked for Darcy all you could," Pepper said.

Jane shook her head and brushed her hair out of her face again. "Not about that, about everything else. Here we are sitting, just waiting for everyone else to either come back triumph or to wait for the end. And I hate it… Did any of you hear about the incident in London?"

Christine nodded and said, "When those portals appeared in the sky and those creepy pale faced dwarf aliens came down in their scary black ship? Yeah."

"You know, I was there," Jane said, in remembrance. "Right in the thick of things, helping Thor with what I could do. And now…I can't even do that. I just hate this useless feeling, that's all."

Pepper glanced down at her shoes. "I can relate to that feeling too."

It was silent among the four women as they all sat dwelling on the unknown and helplessness. Laura suddenly snapped herself out of it. "There is nothing we can do but wait. The coping becomes easier as time passes. It's best to try not to think about it." She was hoping that she was coming across as reassuring.

"I can't help but think about it," Jane exclaimed as she jumped back up and continued pacing. The girl certainly was hyperactive. She reminded Laura of how Clint could be when he was eager. Thinking about Clint just made the fear of the unknown come back.

"I suppose there is no point in dwelling on it," Christine said, her voice dropping into a quiet murmur. "There's nothing we can do."

"I have complete faith that the Avengers and these Guardians will win in the end," Pepper said with confidence.

Jane kept her voice hushed so that nobody outside of their small group could hear her. "And what if they don't?"

That was a good question.

A really good and terrifying question.

…

In Darcy's defense, she hadn't meant to get lost. Was it her fault if this place was so freaking huge? She could have sworn that this building alone was the biggest place ever! Like bigger than the Macy's in New York! Besides, how was she supposed to walk around this place that looked like a glitzy, sci-fi museum and not wander around, that's what she wanted to know. And on top of all of that crap, Jane was a great best friend but a lousy conversationalist. All she ever talked about was science this and science that. So, Darcy got lost. It wasn't that big a deal anyways. She had found this really cool shimmery balcony thing that looked out at the yellow fields. Damn, if only she had her Smart Phone then she could take some really awesome pics.

"Hi there," a voice said, causing Darcy to jump.

When she turned around she saw that guy in the suit who she had basically run over when she came barging in to see Jane. "Oh, hi. You still mad at me for knocking you down?"

The guy shrugged. "Probably not."

"Good. 'Cause I said I was sorry already and I would hate to have to do it again." She turned back to look out at the fields.

"Taking in the view?" the guy asked, stepping up next to her.

"Sorta. I just wanted to see all of this cool stuff and of course get away from Jane's obsessive talking about science stuff for a while. That lady can talk for forever and a year. I also kinda wish I had my Smart Phone. I recently downloaded all of these songs and I could take some really neat pics."

The guy shook his head. "See, I've never been that tech savvy to figure any of that out."

Darcy squinted at him confused. "It's, you know, really easy."

"Well, like I said…I'm not that tech savvy."

"Your Happy, I mean like that's your name?" Happy nodded that indeed, that was in fact his name. Darcy half smiled. That was a cool name. "So, you were Iron Man's body guard, right?"

"I was Tony Stark's head of security," Happy corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"The first one makes me sound ridiculous."

She nodded, considering it for a moment. "You're not wrong. So, what does the head of security do? Do you get a gun?"

"Oh, no. Tony never trusted me with one. He gave me a Taser though."

Darcy's whole face lit up as she exclaimed, "Really? I love Tasers! They're so much fun." Happy raised his eyebrows up at her, slightly concerned. "Well, you know, as fun as any dangerous weapon can be…I hit Thor with a Taser once."

"What-really?"

"Yes." Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and said it again, proudly. "Yes, I did."

Happy shook his head looking toughly impressed. "Wow."

Darcy half smiled again. "You want to see if we can find the main hub or lab or whatever, and see if they have coffee or something?"

"That sounds nice." Darcy started to leave but something caught Happy's eye and he came back to the edge of the balcony's railing. "Wait-what is that?"

Darcy turned back to the balcony and walked back up beside him. "What is what- _holy shit_."

…  
All of Shuri's computers simultaneously lost their power.

Shuri let out a small startled noise and Bruce pushed his glasses back onto his face. After spending hours tinkering and rebooting the Hulk Buster suit, Bruce decided to give up for the time being and sit in Shuri's lab to help the genius girl with anything she needed. He had been there for less than two minutes when the computers all went black. "Whoa, what just happened?"

"I have no idea," Shuri said, frantically tapping on the dead screens. She then went about checking her beaded bracelet. "Power shortages are a thing of the past and any other complication would have come up on the screen or on my bracelet."

As the teenager tried to figure out what had happened, the air in the room suddenly became still and dense. It was like a sightless fog had covered the room making it difficult to breath.

"I have a bad feeling about this," M'Baku muttered, glancing at General Okoye who had basically taken a fighter's stance.

Bruce glanced at Ned and M.J. who both looked equally worried. Bruce mumbled, "You're not the only one."

What happened next was a bit hard to explain.

It felt like a sledgehammer had crashed through Bruce's head, shattering his skull into a million pieces. He fell to his knees and then to his side, grasping his head. He was vaguely aware of the fact that no one was quickly coming over to him in a panic. Then he heard the others drop to the ground too.

It wasn't just him then, everyone was feeling this nearly blinding pain.

Bruce was fairly certain his eyes were closed but he wasn't for sure because all he could see was a bright static white.

Was this brightness the cause of their pain?

Somebody had walked into the lab. A couple somebodies. He could hear them…or maybe he was delusional from the pain. The loud crashes of Shuri's computers being shattered told Bruce that he was not imagining things.

There was another sound. _Click-click_. Something faint and light. _Click-click_. A pair of heels? Then there was a voice.

"Very poor judgment on your heroes' part," the voice said in a shrill and cruel tone. It was a female voice and she sounded like a stuck up brat. "Look who they left to protect those who were left behind. I would have left behind that Scarlet Witch bitch behind. At least she could have tried to protect you all from me. Thinking ahead must not be your forte." Bruce managed to force his eyes open just enough to see a blue skinned woman, with striking violet eyes and shallow checks standing over them. Along with her, there were about a dozen of the Chitauri, all of which were armed with some sort of weapon. She threw her wavy hair out of her face and continued on by saying, "For those of you who do not know, I am Super Giant, a telepath and daughter of the great Titan, Thanos."

There was something about that smug smile that just made Bruce want to smack it off of her. If only he could feel like he could move again. General Okoye grunted out, "You…will not…get away…with…this."

"You misunderstand," Super Giant talked down to them as if they were children. "We already have the others and soon we will get away with everything, including victory. The war shall be won in a few short hours."

The others? Wait, those they were supposed to protect. Did she take all of them? Did she _kill_ them? Was she ever going to stop smiling that bitchy smile?

Bruce clenched his fists. "The…Avengers…will…"

Super Giant snapped, "Your heroes will gravel at Thanos's feet _that_ is what they will do." Bruce managed to glare at her through the pain. Super Giant rolled her eyes, not impressed. "Enough of this. Grab him," she pointed directly at Bruce. She then pointed behind him. "Take him and her as well and prepare to be beamed back onto the ship."

Three of the Chitauri moved forward as they were commanded to. Bruce couldn't keep his eyes open anymore as he felt the burning sting in his head intensify. All he could feel was pain and then the Chitauri's hands as they carried him out of the room.

 _Oh. God._

This was really happening.

And there was no foreseeable escape.

Only one thought made it through to his head that wasn't shear panic, his and whoever else was taken only had one hope: The Earth's mightiest heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy. They were the only ones who could possibly get them out of this mess. And they would. Bruce had to believe that.

And then everything went black.

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 _Author's Note Again: Well that took a turn for the worse! The fates of Bruce and whoever else Super Giant decided to kidnap well be revealed in a couple of chapters, I swear. The next chapter will detail the fight in St. Louis, but this was important and needed to happen first._

 _I don't have much to say this time around, just sorry again. (I feel like I'm always apologizing.) Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and I hope you enjoy the surprise that is coming soon!_

 _I would also like to say that I am not ready for this weekend. You know, emotionally. First the TV show I have loved and watched for five years ends tonight, making me forfeit watching Endgame opening night. And then of course there's Endgame itself. I am not ready for this! (Sigh…) Who is, am I right? And finally, finals are coming soon… just send help. (Get help! I didn't even mean to do that.)_

 _Thank you again for all of the reviews, they keep me going! Until next time, bye!_


	20. Chapter Seventeen

_Author's Note: Surprise!_

 _I finished Chapter Sixteen in early March but saw how small it was and decided to hold off on publishing it until I finished this much larger chapter! So, here you go. Two chapters in two days! Enjoy it, because this is not going to be a regular occurrence._

 _If you see any spelling or grammar errors, please tell me because I did not reread this to the extent that I normally do._

 _Also, I apologize that it seems like the characters jump around a lot. Like first they are here and then suddenly they are somewhere else. It just sort of happened and I figured in a real battle with all of these characters, they would jump around, going to where they were needed most._

 _(_ _ **ALSO, Also**_ _: I have a request that I will talk about more in my Author's Note Again.)_

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 _Chapter Seventeen: The Battle of St. Louis_

"Doctor, whenever you are ready," T'Challa had said to Strange after convincing Shuri that she needed to stay in the secure Wakanda. Strange nodded and wasted no time in opening up yet another of his sparkling portals, this one leading straight to St. Louis, Missouri. The Avengers and the Guardians quickly shuffled through the portal, T'Challa being the last to go through. He was hesitant, and rightfully so, about leaving his sister, his mother, and the rest of Wakanda behind. But he followed the rest of them through and Strange closed up the portal.

St. Louis was a steel and towering city that had the more "traditional" Midgardian look. It had freeways, looming glass buildings, and the streets were filled with parked taxi cabs. But most impressive of all, St. Louis was already a warzone.

The attack had started what? Fifteen minutes ago? But Thanos's minions wasted no time in wreaking havoc on a scale that made the Battle of Wakanda look like child's play.

The ridiculously large group of superheroes were in parking lot, with no shortage of abandoned cars, just east of the so called St. Louis Arch. The Arch still stood tall despite the fact that three monstrous sized pod ships had crashed mere feet away from it. There were ships also in the nearby river and there were probably others around the city that they just couldn't see. These ships were similar to the ones that had landed in Wakanda and were filled to the brim with the alien dog-like creatures, the Outriders. There were at least a dozen fires burning through the city within seeing distance, how many fires there were in total was anybody's guess. And if all of that wasn't bad enough, it would appear that Thanos had used the Space Stone to rally even more of his followers, because there was a blue portal in the sky were the Chitauri, in the hundreds, came flying on their hover pod ships, firing their blue laser guns. None of the civilian population had known to be ready for such a full scale assault. They had been too busy dealing with being cut in half. They were trying to take shelter now and the authorities were trying to fight back, but they were hilariously outgunned. All of St. Louis was just a sitting target.

 _Stars above…_

In all of his years, Loki had seen countless battles but this was…this was a complete onslaught.

Is this what New York was like?

No one had said a word for almost a minute. Everyone was just taking in the gut clenching disaster. The explosion of a nearby car caused everyone to start and that snapped them all back to reality. Stark quickly took control of the situation. "Strange, you go and see if Quill's grandfather is still with us."

Quill, who was looking like he was in a haze, muttered, "He lives on 1507 Fairmount Avenue." Strange nodded and quickly opened up a portal. He had already walked through it while Quill was still muttering, more to himself really. "It's a nice place. St. Louis always was…"

"Quill," Sam asked, taking a step towards him, "you okay?"

Quill shook his head no, but said, "Yeah. It's just…now I really feel like I'm back on Earth." He waved his hands around as he spoke, trying to act like his normal self but his solemn tone of voice kept breaking the illusion. "And…it's all on fire." Besides the solemnness, there was also an underlining sound of guilt in his tone. Loki personally did not hold Quill responsible for this like Stark did. It was easy to understand how a person could forget about someone they hadn't seen in over twenty years. Especially if that someone was on a planet that that person had not been on for the same amount of time. Besides, Quill did have the tendency to not be able to think sometimes. It was just in his nature.

Strange returned through the still opened portal and very obviously avoided Quill's worried eyes. Strange closed the portal and quietly said, "I didn't see any sign of him. I'm sorry."

Quill looked like he had been slapped across the face. He took a step backwards and shook his head in disbelief. Gamora reached out for him, trying to console him. "Peter?"

But he took a quick deep breath and tried unsuccessfully to bury his hurt. "We got bigger things to worry about right now." Gamora and the rest of the Guardians gazed at their leader with sympathy. Quill didn't notice and if he did, he ignored them. "What's our first move?"

"That's a great question," Stark said glancing at the dear Captain. "Cap?"

Steve was the only one who hadn't taken his eyes away from the firefight since they had arrived. He closed his eyes and took in a long, shaky breath. Worry lines creased in his forehead. As it would appear, even the mighty solider could be stressed to max. "Alright," he said once he opened his eyes back up and seemed like he was back to being himself, or at the very least, he was faking being back to being himself. He turned towards the group and took command like the good Captain he was. "Tony, Sam, Rhodey, Hope, you have the perimeter. Keep the Chitauri within a ten block radiance. Anything outside of that, you turn it around or you turn it to ash." Rhodey and Hope both nodded and both of their helmets closed. Sam was quick to put his red goggles on. Stark was the only one who made no move to do anything just yet. Clearly he wanted to hear all of Steve's orders. "Bucky, Clint, I want you both at different vantage points, calling out patterns and taking down as many of them as you can." Bucky clicked the safety off of his semi-automatic machine gun. Barton pressed a few buttons on his bow.

Before Steve could continue on T'Challa interrupted, "Shuri has just informed me that the majority of the battle is occurring on that freeway overpass," he pointed to the concrete elevated roads west of the Arch, "and just north of the baseball stadium."

"Then we split up," Steve said glancing at everyone who he hadn't already given an order to. "We must keep the fight contained between us."

"That's going to be some bloody hard work," Valkyrie mumbled as she twirled around her sword.

Before anyone could move, T'Challa raised his hand to stop them. "Wait." He held his other hand to his ear and listened to Shuri telling him something else. He finally dropped his hand and told them all, "She also says that there is a whole group of civilians trapped in the Capitol building."

"We'll deal with it." Loki quickly glanced to Wanda, who had spoken up. She met his eyes and then motioned to herself, him, and Strange. "The three of us."

"Yes!" Scott said a little too happily considering everything that was happening around them. "The three wizards team up again!"

Loki sighed, "You really must stop calling us wizards."

"The three magicians?" Scott said, all too willing to come up with a different name for them. "The three magic-users? The three mage team up?" Loki just glared at him.

 _Why is it so hard to simply be called the masters of the mystic arts?_

Had he not been tired from the last several days of continuously going through an emotional wringer and of all of the non-stop fighting, he might have been tempted to do something a bit dramatic to the so-called Ant-Man. Strange had joined Wanda and Loki and glanced at the trickster God with a warning look when he said, "Let's just go before you turn him into an actual ant."

 _Well, that wasn't exactly the dramatic thing I had in mind, but it certainly is a grand idea._

"I'd love to see that," Rocket muttered, checking what looked like tiny red marbles that were in his pocket. Scott however looked worried and made an effort to put some space between him and Loki to make sure he did not get turned into an insect.

With that, Stark, Rhodey, Sam, and Hope took flight, flying in different directions to spread out. Hope's wings glistened in the sunlight as they fluttered. Her black and silver suit stood out even as she got further away. She certainly did look like a giant wasp. Strange opened two different portals for Bucky and Barton, both leading to two different rooftops. The dear Captain split the remaining of the team into two groups, the one that would deal with the fight on the freeway and the one that would deal with the fight near the stadium. Steve led Thor, Peter, T'Challa, Scott, Quill, and Drax down the city streets to reach the stadium. Natasha, who Steve placed in charge of the group who were to fight on the freeway, led Nebula, Rocket, Mantis, Groot, Gamora, and Valkyrie towards the high rise roads. Strange seemed to be on his way to the Capitol building, apparently he knew the way.

Loki's mind was going a thousand different directions. All of this chaos, all of these stakes that loomed over them if they failed to win this fight…and to think he used to revel in this sort of chaos.

"Loki?" That was Wanda. Probably wondering why he was hesitating to do what needed to be done. Now was not a time to get sucked up into the pressure of all of this insanity. But what could he say? It was hard not to.

"Brother, I can hear you internally worrying." Loki spun around. Thor had come back and so had Nebula.

He glanced between the two. "I could have sworn you were both needed elsewhere."

Thor half chuckled, tiredly. "That is very true, but I know you too well. Worrying just seems to be your natural state lately." He reached out for Loki and grabbed his shoulder. "We are going to win this."

Loki shook his head. "I admire your faith. I just wish I could share your confidence." Thor gave him his best calming smile he could muster and his eyes, even the prostatic one, had that hopeful, borderline naïve shine that seemed to say that everything would work out fine in the end. Just like he had promised it would. Loki had never been extremely optimistic, but there was something about this lovable oaf that did make him believe that by some miracle of fate, they would end up winning this thing. Or at the very least, he wanted to believe that it was possible. And it was because of this sort of newfound belief that Loki said, "Alright, I'll see you soon."

Thor's smile broadened, like he had won some big battle. In a small way, he kind of did. His grip on Loki's shoulder tightened for a second before he let go completely and ran off in the direction that Steve and his group had gone.

The second Thor had left, Loki caught Nebula's eye. _Those eyes_. Why were they always so entrancing? Staring at the blue woman, he had this scary thought that even if they did win this, lives could be lost.

 _What if I die? What if she dies?_

The latter was worse to think about then the former. Death had lost its terrifying grip years ago, it was pain that truly scared him. Especially the type of pain worse than death. The pain you felt when you lost a loved one.

How many people had he lost, and the thought of losing one more still sent a shiver up his spine. But Nebula was not just another person he cared about. If he lost her it would be worse than the other times he lost someone. He wasn't sure exactly why, he just knew it would be worse.

He knew he had been staring at her for far too long and that if he was going to say something then he needed to just spit it out, because there was a war to be fought. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what to say. Thankfully, he didn't have to think. Nebula spoke up instead, "Your brother may be an idiot, but he was right. You are worrying too much." She paused and then walked closer to him so that the space between them wasn't so big anymore. She seemed unsure of what to say herself for a second but then decided on saying, "Just, don't die."

He smirked, feeling a twinge of amusement. "I do not plan on doing something so incredibly idiotic."

"Good." And with that, she turned on her heels and speed walked away, trying to catch up with her group. Loki watched her walk away, with a slight smile, for a moment before turning back to Wanda and going with her to find Strange at the Capitol building. It was unusual to be sure. To feel a since of hope in such a hopeless situation. But what could he say? Thor knew how to rub his hope off on other people. And Nebula…well, she just sort of always had a weird sort of effect on him.

…

Wanda wasn't enjoying this. At all. "Look out!" she shouted, pointing up at the sky where a burning Chitauri hover ship was quickly hurtling towards her, Loki, and Dr. Strange.

"I got it!" Strange said, as he swiftly waved his hands around, orange sparks dancing from his fingers. He then rose his hands in the air, creating an orange shield the size of the Capitol they were trying so desperately to protect. The ship crashed into the shield but instead of exploding into a wreckage of debris, the ship was magically transformed into about two dozen blue butterflies.

Wanda wiped her sweaty forehead and half chuckled. "I love magic."

Loki wasted no time in admiring Strange's work and instead went about fighting off a handful of Outriders that were trying to make their way to the white Capitol with its minty green dome. Loki's almost elegant way of handling his daggers was a sight to see too. It just showed that he had years, correction, _centuries_ of experience on his side. Those handful of Outriders now lay dead on the marble steps of the Capitol, daggers sticking in their necks.

Wanda, Loki, and Strange all stood on the stairs watching for breaks in the fight, so that they could signal to those who were trapped in the Capitol, standing near the exits, to make a run for safety. "Safety" usually meant running out of the Capitol building and then through a portal Strange had opened that lead to a location that was not downtown St. Louis, where the fighting seemed to be concentrated.

Loki brushed himself off and then noticed that there was a couple of people standing close behind them in the doorway, taking pictures with their phones. He huffed, "What is it with you Midgardians and your bloody cellphones?"

"Yeah," Wanda said, scanning the area for more Outriders and Chitauri, "it's kind of a widespread socially acceptable addiction."

Loki looked unamused. " _Wonderful_. Will one of you please tell them that they need to stop gawking and prepare themselves to move when we tell them to?"

Two Chitauri came into view, both arming themselves with their laser guns. Wanda took a step forward, feeling her red energy swirl up around her hands. "I'm a bit busy right now." She then threw a burst of the energy at one of the monsters, completely engulfing it, and then flew it into the other one. If the two aliens weren't dead they were certainly knocked out with a concussion.

Loki sighed. "I _would_ do it, but then I would probably end up yelling at them and mentioning how stupid they are." Wanda couldn't help but smirk at that last part. He would end up doing that.

"I'll go," Strange said, in his usual monotone fashion.

As Strange went to talk to the civilians, Tony flew by in his suit, a long line of Chitauri following him. "Stark, you do realize that you are being trailed, right?" Loki asked.

Tony's voice came over the radio. _"Yes, Reindeer Games, I realize that. How are you three not wizards doing?"_

"Well, we're not dead yet," Loki muttered.

"Whenever there is a break in the battle," Wanda told him, "Strange teleports the civilians to safety."

" _Good."_ Tony spun around in the air so that he was facing the oncoming Chitauri and fired his repulsor beams from both his hands and the one in his chest. Most of the hover ships were destroyed instantly but a few remained, so Tony took off flying again. _"You guys keep it up and let us worry about the army from hell."_

"How is everyone else?" Wanda asked, wanting to know how the rest of the team was doing. Few people were talking over the comms for obvious reasons, they were too concerned with staying alive. But as a result, without using her powers she honestly didn't know how any of the team was doing.

" _Well,"_ Bucky started, almost causally, _"I'm as well as any guy who is starting to feel too old to be fighting in another war."_

" _I'm feeling more alive than I have in almost two weeks!"_ That was Valkyrie sounding absolutely thrilled. _"After all of the bloody sitting and talking and doing absolutely nothing, this is a welcomed change of pace!"_ Wanda heard Loki softly scoff at this.

" _This chick is crazy,"_ Quill whispered, but not quite quiet enough so that he wouldn't be heard by everyone on the comms.

" _Hey, I heard that!"_ Valkyrie shouted.

"Oh, joy to the blessed world." It took Wanda a second before realizing that Loki was not talking about Valkyrie but about the thirty Chitauri hover ships that were flying towards them. "Strange, I think now is a good time to rejoin the party."

"I don't see how that's a party," Wanda said, eyeing the aliens as she took her fighter's stance. "I assume you two have a plan?"

"I do," Strange said. A slight smile pulled at his lips. "Treat them like they were a giant snake." For once, Strange's comments didn't need explaining. Wanda and Loki knew what he was talking about. Like when they were in the Soul World keeping that giant scaly snake distracted, they all conjured up their shield of combined red, green, and orange magic and energy.

The hover ships were no match for the shield, so they simply crashed and exploded upon impact.

…

This was like New York all over again.

Except it was much more brutal.

Clint stood on the edge of a tall tan building, firing arrows left, right, and sideways. From where he was he could see the Arch, the interstate, and the massive alien attack that seemed to be concentrated in downtown St. Louis. That was literary the only thing going for them. Explosions went off on the ground and in the sky. The abandoned streets were filled with dead and dying creatures. The fight was contained, yes, but they were hilariously outnumbered. More than once, Clint had to duck or jump out of the way as a Chitauri or a dog, Outrider thing got far too close. Each one that tried to attack him got an accurately shot arrow to the eye socket. He was always fighting to keep one step ahead of the enemy just so he could stay alive. The rooftop was becoming littered with dead aliens and their spilling blood.

It had been awhile since he had been in a proper fight. Not since Germany, and that had ended in a disaster. He was quick to jump right back into the game though, and his aim was still on point. But the never ceasing adrenaline pumping through his veins was starting to wear him out. What he wouldn't give for a five minute breather.

 _God_ , he sounded old.

He had pulled out another arrow and was preparing to fire it at an Outrider creature that was about a hundred feet away from him, quickly scaling the side of the building, when a flash of light caught the corner of his eye. He spun around and saw another flash of light, this time he could clearly see that the light was a vivid orange color. And the light wasn't a flash of light at all, it was a _flame_. He quickly went back to dispatching the fast approaching creature, who was now only twenty feet away. The arrow pierced it's eye and it fell with a screech. With that taken care of, Clint ran to the other side of the building to see where this close fire was coming from.

Or rather, _who_ this fire was coming from.

"Guys," he called, hoping someone was listening, "important news bulletin."

" _Yeah, what is it?"_ Rhodey asked. Two seconds later he flew by where Clint stood, a handful of Chitauri following close behind. He fired an explosive arrow at the last Chitauri ship, it pierced the back of the driver's skull, and exploded. The ship as well as the two ships in front of it crashed down in a fiery ball of debris.

"That guy who tried to blow us up in Wakanda. Thane? I see him." Down in the streets below, the purple-pink alien was setting the tall white building across from where Clint stood on fire. To his knowledge, most if not all of the civilians were evacuated out of the downtown district. That was a good thing, because the towering skyscraper was already ablaze, the heat of the licking flames could be felt from where the archer stood. There was no saving the building. Period. Let alone anybody trapped inside.

All he could do was hope and pray that there was no one left inside.

" _Where is he?"_ Steve asked, sounding a bit out of breath. Clearly he was just fighting to just stay alive too. If someone like Captain Steve freaking Rogers had to fight to stay in the game, then they were all screwed.

Clint shook this thought from his mind and eyed the burning building, recognizing it. Thane started to stroll away from his good work. But he wasn't going to escape from them. "Just west of the Continental Life building."

" _Oh, jeez,"_ the teenage Peter Parker said. _"Which building is that?"_

"The white one that's just been set on fire."

Tony's voice came over the radio, also sounding tired and out of breath. _"Hey, Point Break? Wanna help me take on this guy? Fight fire with…well, lightning."_

" _I'll be there,"_ Thor said gruffly.

Clint always prided himself on having a very keen set of senses. It made up for his hot-headedness. So it was no surprise that he instantly felt that something was coming towards him. He spun around again and saw practically an army of Chitauri fliers racing for him. "Ah, crap." He pressed one of the buttons on his bow, lining up a special arrow in his quiver. He swiftly pulled out the arrow and fired it at the ground nearby the burning Continental building. The arrow had a strong, black cable attached to it and to the inside of his quiver. The army was getting closer. He had to move fast. He detached the cable from his quiver with another push of a button, attached the metal end to the floor of the rooftop, and prepared jump. "Yeah, I'll meet you two there."

" _What?"_ Tony said, surprised. _"Is being lookout getting too boring for you Barton?"_

Clint half-shrugged. "Joining you isn't by choice." He jumped from the building and started to propel down the cable just as the fliers started to fire at where he had been standing. The trip down to the ground was a bit too fast for his liking but he had done something similar to this about a hundred times during his time with S.H.I.E.L.D. so it wasn't like this was completely new to him. He was about six feet from the ground when the cable snapped, dropping him to the ground. He landed with a roll, because unlike most of his other teammates, he could actually break a bone if he landed on his feet from that height going at that speed.

He was quick to jump back to his feet and to pull out another arrow and line it up on his bow. He started to jog in the direction he had seen Thane going from up on the rooftop, ignoring the blistering heat of the fire. Just as he came into view of Thane, Thor and Tony decided to finally show up. They both flew from different directions and landed on either side of Clint.

Tony was the first to get Thane's attention. "Hey, Hot Head!" The alien turned, looking curious and annoyed. "Burning public property is a pretty big offence here on Earth. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to give you a ticket. And you know, jail time."

Thane scowled. "Cute. Am I to expect such _wit_ from every human I have the misfortune of meeting today?"

Clint shrugged. "Yeah, probably. There's no point in asking you to just surrender, right?"

"Correct." Thane's hands instantly turned a bright hot white and he charged at the three men. Tony lifted both his hands and fired, blasting Thane in the chest, throwing him backwards but it wasn't enough to knock him down. With a holler, Thor charged Thane and swung his axe for his head. He missed, just barely. Thane clenched his fist angrily and sparks flew from his fingertips. Clint fired the arrow he had lined up at Thane, who managed to duck out of the arrow's path. He figured there was no point in firing an explosive arrow at the fire enthusiast so he readied a different type of arrow. He shot the arrow, this time Thane caught it. Thane chuckled darkly, probably thinking up some kind of putdown about humans and their weak weapons. But Clint pressed the button on his bow before he could.

The arrow instantly dispersed a white gas.

A knockout gas.

Thane began hacking and dropped the arrow, just as he dropped to his knees. Clint couldn't help but feel a little smug for being the one to take down the monstrous man. He walked closer to him, as Thane began to grow quieter, Tony close behind him. Thor stayed a ways back, looking cautious. "I would not get too close."

Tony scoffed, "Don't worry, Point Break. Sometimes some things are just plain easy."

That's what Clint thought too. Until Thane suddenly jumped up and threw him and Tony away from him. They both landed with a thud and a crash. Clint felt the wind get completely knocked out of him. Well, so much for that plan.

Thor instantly swung his axe at Thane attempting to hit him again, but Thane jumped out of the way just as the axe slammed into the ground, bits of lightning radiating from the mighty weapon. Thane was left having to catch his breath and he was still coughing. Guess the gas did do a number on him after all. But Thane wasn't about to admit that so he quickly regained his composure and glared down Thor. "It's Thor, isn't it? The God of Thunder. The _powerful_ Asgardian." His words were dripping with sarcasm. "Too bad you did not have power enough to save your people."

Thor yanked his axe from the ground. "You cannot goad me."

Thane's cruel smile returned, taking Thor's words as a challenge. "I suppose if a man cannot stop his own _sister_ from destroying his own planet, how can he be expected to stop someone as exceptional as Thanos?"

Thor shook his head. "It's not working." He fired a blast of lightning at Thane, which again, the arsonist dodged.

Clint slowly sat up with a groan. Boy, he should have stayed retired. Tony was slow to get up too. He glanced at Clint, who shook his head. "So, I'm out of ideas on how to fight this creep. You got any thoughts?" Tony was quiet, thinking.

Thor hurled his axe at Thane, who dropped to the ground to avoid it.

Tony then shrugged. "Maybe we just let the God man deal with him." Clint rolled his eyes, but in all honesty that wasn't a terrible plan.

The axe came flying back to Thor as Thane stood up and brushed himself off. "I will admit, Asgardian, you have admirable strength." It was the first time he had ever said anything without a condescending tone. It didn't last long. "I always thought you Asgardians were only a bunch of cowardly Vikings. But then again, the only other Asgardian I ever saw was your pathetic brother." Clint froze. Well this ain't gonna be good. Thor's eyes widened and Thane realized he had struck a nerve. "You should have seen him when he was on Thanos's ship, shaking like a leaf in autumn. Always _so_ afraid. Damned coward."

"Shut up," Thor barked, his grip on his axe tightening.

"Make me," Thane jeered, crossing his arms, "if you care so much for him which I do not understand. He's not even your blood, not even an Asgardian. He's a _filthy_ Jotun."

Clint felt the pound of a headache behind his temples. This entire situation had just erupted into a disaster waiting to happen. "This isn't gonna end well. What are we going to do?" Again, Tony was quiet. But it was a different kind of a quiet. It was a pissed off kind of quiet. Clint could literary feel the anger radiating off of Tony as well as Thor.

Oh, boy…

And Thane, the bastard, just kept right on talking. "A monster who deserved to die. Who deserved all the pain he got. And _God_ , he was so weak. I cannot tell you how many times my sleep would be interrupted because of his pitiful screams. He-"

"Stark-Tony, wait!" Clint yelled, too late to prevent Tony from flying at Thane and tackling him to the ground.

If the crunching sound of when the metal of Tony's suit came into contact with Thane's flesh when he tackled him wasn't sickening enough, it grew much worse when Tony started repeatedly punching the purple alien in the face. "Oh, don't let me stop you!" Tony shouted, no sarcasm in his tone, just his infuriation. "Keep going! I dare you!"

Thane probably would have kept going if given half the chance and Tony knew this. Hence the nonstop beating. It was about ten seconds later that Tony broke the armor surrounding his right fist and that was the only reason he stopped. The Nano tech in his suit started to fix itself and it was during this brief pause that Thor, who had been silent the whole time Tony was punching Thane, slowly came over to the two. He pointed the blade of his axe at Thane's neck as he firmly spoke. "If you dare to say one more word of disrespect about my brother, I swear on my life, I will kill you. I made the mistake of not going for the head with your father but I will not make that mistake with you."

Thane, with his bleeding nose and two black eyes, laughed. More than laughed, he cackled. All Thor and Tony could do was stare at the man in disbelief. "Oh, my goodness!" Thane said through his laughter. "You all care about him _so much_! Good to know. Caring so deeply about someone is a weakness. You see, you both let your guards down." With one wave of his hand, Thane a produced a six foot high blast of yellow fire that sent Thor and Tony back flying towards Clint.

Said archer decided there was no point in trying to continue this futile battle with Thane, not when he had to make sure his two teammates hadn't gone and gotten themselves killed. He was quick to run over to the two and kneel down so that he was between them both. "Thor?" Thor sat up slowly, looking bewildered. Part of his cape by his left shoulder was on fire. "Your cape is on fire." Thor saw this and patted it out. Tony stayed laying down but muttered something under his breath. "Tony?" Clint would be the first one to admit that he had not thought this next part through. He wanted to help the man sit up, so he was reaching for his arm to do so… "Are you alri-Ahh!" The metal was scorching hot. So much so that soft fleshy part of his left palm was already red and tingling in pain.

Clint held his hand tightly, cursing at his own stupidity. "What-what happened?" Thor asked.

"Nothing," he said through gritted teeth. "My mistake, I'm just stupid that's all."

Tony still stayed laying on the ground but his helmet opened up. The man was a red, sweaty mess. "Jesus, Friday, turn on the AC in the suit."

Thane had escaped.

Who knew where he was now. Probably in a different part of the city lighting it on fire. Thor had ripped a part of his cape into a small strip and gave it to Clint so he could wrap his hand. As he did so he glanced between the two of them. "Did losing your tempers help the situation? _At all_? 'Cause from my own personal experience, it never makes things better, it always makes everything worse." He doubted he had to give an example. What he had said to Loki was still fresh on everyone's minds.

"You're right," Thor said, shaking his head slowly. "I shouldn't have let my emotions cloud my judgment like that, I just…when he started talking about Loki…"

Clint held up his hand to stop him from explaining. He didn't have to. "I get it. You wanted to defend your brother's honor, but maybe we could do it in a way that doesn't result in us all burnt to a crisp?"

Tony, still looking sweaty, nodded. "You got a fair point, Robin Hood…I'll let everyone else know to be on the lookout for the fire eater." He took in a deep breath and then tried to shake away his tired expression. He wasn't that successful. "Come on, let's get you on top of a different building." Clint agreed and soon they were all back in the never ending fight.

…

"Alright, this is what I'm talking about!" Scott exclaimed as he readied himself for the next part of the epic battle that was happening all around them. He had helped the group of big leagues with the alien creature things around the baseball stadium and now he was several blocks away, waiting for the next wave of enemies. While there was still a pretty big concentration of these aliens, which by the way nobody mentioned how freaking scary they were, the large group split up into smaller groups. In the case of him, he was teamed up with none other than Peter "The Spider-Man" Parker. And luckily, Hope was flying around in their area so she decided to help out for a bit before taking off again. That's when Scott got excited. " _The Bug Group_ , working together at last! All we need is that Mantis girl and Black Widow and we'd be all set!"

Hope buried her face in her hands. Peter then asked, "Isn't a spider technically not a bug?"

Scott thought for a moment. "Yeah, but we're making an exception here."

Peter shrugged. "Fair enough."

A large squad of those disgusting things that attacked New York landed about thirty feet away from them and started firing blue lasers at them. Scott, Hope, and Peter all jumped for cover behind an overturned green car. As scary and overwhelming as this was, Scott couldn't help but feel like he was a kid playing the world's craziest interactive video game ever. Yes, this was serious. But by God, he was fighting aliens with the Avengers! He couldn't help but feel overly excited.

Hope shattered the moment by being her stern and serious self. "Can we stop gushing about being a "Bug Group" and actually fight these things?" Before waiting for a reply, her helmet closed, she stood up, fired several times and blasted four aliens with her blasters. All four of the unlucky guys who got hit, screeched in pain. Hope then threw a handful of shrinking discs at the squad. Five of the aliens were shrunk to the size of bugs.

Scott closed his own helmet. "Of course. And I wasn't gushing."

Hope turned to him and he could see her raised eyebrow through the glass surrounding her eyes. "Yes, you were."

"Not really," Scott said shrugging it off.

Peter swung from his webs and jumped around the creatures to avoid the blue lasers. He started shooting them with his electrified webs. "You were a little bit, Mr. Ant-Man."

Scott laughed. "Ha! "Mr. Ant-Man". That sounds like something Cassie would say. I remember one time-"

"Scott, stop getting sidetracked!" Hope shouted, her wings springing free from her suit as she took flight and joined Peter in taking care of the alien creatures.

Yeah.

Okay, fine.

Maybe he was gushing a bit too much and getting sidetracked. At least he admitted it. _Okay_ , time to get down to business. He reversed upped the levels of how much of Hank's formula he would use and then pressed the button on his hand. It hadn't been too long ago that he had grown to the size of King Kong for his and Hope's whole adventure in saving Hope's mom thing. But every time he reversed the levels to grow instead of shrink, it gave him a bit of a rush because who didn't dream about being a giant?

He could see the whole of downtown St. Louis, from the Arch to the stadium to the City Museum. He saw the groups of small people fighting the large groups of small aliens. And the aliens who were so dead set on fighting him, Hope, and Peter, stared at him in amazement. And then they fled the streets. Through the radio in his ear, he could hear some of the startled gasps from the superhero team at his transformation into Giant-Man. The tiny raccoon shouted loudest of all, _"Mother of-How in the hell!"_

"Oh, yeah!" Peter shouted. "I almost forgot about that. The marvelous Giant-Man!" Scott chuckled and started slapping the flying hovercrafts that were flying too close to his face out of his way.

" _Go get 'em, Tic-Tac!"_ Scott smiled at Sam's words.

" _Okay,"_ Quill muttered, _"everyone else is seeing this, right?"_

One of Quill's friends, the one who took everything seriously, Drax, said, _"You mean the ginormous man batting the flying menaces out of the sky? Yes, I am seeing this."_

But the best thing anyone said was Loki sounding oh so impressed when he said, _"No one ever mentioned that you grew as well as shrank."_

"Yeah," Scott said, "I don't do it too often."

"You should do it all the time, if you're able," Peter said swinging around him until he landed on his shoulder with ease. Peter looked out over the city from the view of being perched on Scott's shoulder and exclaimed, "Because this is awesome!"

…

Bucky had been standing at the top of a building with black colored glass. It was a ways away from the Arch but near the main center where all the violence seemed to be occurring. For the first hour or so of the fight, he had stayed their shooting aliens out of the sky. Boy, if someone had told him that this is what he would be doing in his "twilight years" he would have thought they were crazy. But that was part of life, wasn't it? The world keeps on gettin' crazier and crazier.

After a particularly difficult fight where about ten of those things that were in Wakanda had surrounded him, a portal opened up, and Dr. Strange ran through it. The wizard closed his portal and then put his hands on his knees, as he caught his breath. "Hey, you alright?" Bucky asked as he reloaded his gun. Strange nodded his head that yes he was fine. That didn't seem to be true considering his shortness of breath and his bleeding nose. "You sure?"

Strange shook his head and brushed him off. "I'm fine. Lot of Chitauri to take care of that's all." After taking in another breath, Strange turned to him and said, "You are needed on the freeway."

Bucky looked at him confused. "Really? Steve never-"

"Believe me, you will be of more help on the freeway."

Strange had that tone and look in his eye that Bucky had gotten used to in the Soul World. It was peculiar, Strange's actions, but unlike a certain annoying God, Bucky decided not to question it.

"Okay. I assume you'll use your magic to get me down there."

Strange swiftly opened up another portal leading to a section of the freeway. The two men walked through. The fight was just as brutal down here as it had been up on his rooftop. The aliens and their destroyed hovercraft things laid piled up on the road, staining the cement red.

War. Love it or leave it.

What Bucky wouldn't give to just leave it and never return to it.

The group that had gone to fight on the freeway had apparently split up into two groups. Natasha Romanoff, the green lady named Gamora, the blue lady named Nebula, and the sassy lady named Valkyrie were further down the freeway, closer to the Arch. Where he had arrived at was closer to leaving downtown St. Louis. The Mantis girl, the talking tree, and the talking raccoon were at this part of the freeway. The tree, Groot, was busy impaling the aliens who were attacking on the ground, while the raccoon sat behind some burning debris working on some sort of devise. Mantis stood off to the sidelines, trying to help when she could but otherwise she just stood there fidgeting, looking like she needed a hug.

Strange walked over to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. She started. "What? Oh-Dr. Strange you startled me."

"Not my intention. Just wanted you to know that Captain Barnes will be assisting you."

Mantis' face lit up with appreciation. "Oh, good! We could use some more help."

"No we don't," the raccoon grumbled to himself. After seeing that this small group knew about their new helper, Strange nodded to Bucky and opened up another portal, leading to another part of the fight. Bucky sighed and made sure he was good on ammunition.

The tree pointed down the freeway and shouted, "I am Groot!"

"To your left!" Mantis exclaimed, "There is a dozen monsters coming!" And there were. Twelve vicious creatures with gnashing teeth. Bucky raised his machine gun, waiting for them to get a little closer. But the raccoon had other ideas.

"They ain't monsters, Mantis," Rocket Raccoon said confidently, as he pulled out what looked like little red marbles from his pocket. "They're just some really ugly space dogs!" He hurled the tiny beads at the fast approaching aliens, they attached to them, Rocket pushed the button on the little device he had been working on, and the aliens were blown to bloody pieces. Mantis and Groot both ducked, Bucky simply rose his metal arm to shield his face. Rocket smiled and nodded happily at his work. "Yeah."

Bucky shook his head in mild amusement. " _God_ , for a cute woodland creature, you really love your coldblooded murder."

Rocket was quick to snap, "For the second time, I ain't cute, I'm fierce!"

"I am Groot?" Groot asked.

Rocket muttered, "The first guy to say I was cute was Loki."

"Actually," Mantis said softly, "I said you were cute once as well."

Rocket growled, " _Fine_. For the _third_ time, I ain't cute, I'm fierce!"

Bucky shook his head again. "We all could die and this is what we're going to discuss?"

"Why not?" Rocket asked, loading his gun for the next batch of aliens. A "space dog" jumped over to where the four stood and grabbed onto Bucky's right arm. The flesh and bone one. He pulled the trigger on his semi-automatic but the damned alien had a strong hold on him, preventing him from raising the gun and shooting him in the head. So, the concrete road was instead riddled with bullets. The alien screeched, showing off it's ugly teeth up close and personal. Not to mention it's horrible breath. Bucky clenched his metal fist and started viciously smashing the alien's head in. It wasn't long after that. The alien fell to the ground dead, leaving Bucky to feel the fresh bruises on his right arm. Then it was back to the fight. As Groot grew his arms out to impale the surrounding aliens and Rocket began firing again at the rest, the raccoon asked Bucky, "Come on, seriously, how much for the arm?"

" _Seriously_ , it's not for sale."

Rocket rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. Mark my words, I'll get that arm." No sooner had he said this, had they become surrounded by the swarming aliens. Rocket might have said they weren't monsters, but Bucky had to disagree.

Then a voice came over the radio. _"You all seem like you're in need of help. Allow me."_ Sam Wilson swooped over them, mowing down the beastly things with his handheld guns. Well, where had he come from? "You're welcome," he said, after the creatures were dispatched.

"Hey, fly boy!" Rocket hollered up at Sam. "How much for the wings?"

Bucky half chuckled. "What is his deal with trying to buy everything?"

It was meant as a rhetorical question but Mantis answered it all the same. "He has an obsession with spare parts. I am not really sure why."

Sam, who was still hovering above them, said, "You know, I'm still waiting for a "thank you"."

Bucky scoffed at this. "Wow. You trying to be overly annoying, because it's working."

Sam half smiled at that. "Maybe I am the annoying one after all."

"Na, that title without a doubt belongs to Quill," Rocket said. At that moment a terrible and ear-piercing explosion went off in the distance. The four on the ground turned in the direction of the horrible sound and Sam finally landed on the roadway. Bucky couldn't believe his eyes: The building covered in black-colored glass had been demolished. Completely gone. Nothing but a few remains of melting metal frameworks, a red angry fire, and the dark gray smoke that was engulfing sections of the sky. Tony Stark's voice came over the radio asking if anyone of them had been in the building at the time. Bucky had difficulty forming words, but he managed to say over the radio that he and his little group were fine. His little group was left in awe and horror at the fallen building. "Holy…" Rocket then paused and glanced up at Bucky. "Uh, weren't you just up there?"

Bucky nodded slowly. "Yeah…I could've died." Dying wasn't necessarily what scared him in this situation, it wasn't what sent a shiver down his spine. It was the fact that if he had stayed up there for another four minutes…he would have been burnt alive.

" _We_ could've died, man." Bucky turned to Sam, who was the one who had spoken. He gave him a questioning look, which turned downright confused when he saw how troubled Sam appeared. Sam started to explain. "Steve sent me to help you and I was on my way to that building," he pointed at the fiery blaze, "but I saw you down here, so I came here instead of…"

Sam didn't need to finish his sentence. Bucky understood. "Freaky."

"I know!" Sam exclaimed. "This is some Twilight Zone shit right here."

Mantis eyed the two men sympathetically and said, "I suppose luck and fate are on both of your sides and saved you both."

"Yeah…" Bucky muttered before trailing off. Luck and fates. Or something else. _Someone_ else. He never considered himself the smartest guy in the world but when you gave him two and two, it did not take him long to figure out that it equaled four. Sam had to go back to flying the perimeter, but he still looked deeply troubled about almost dying. Rocket and Groot continued their fighting of more aliens that were coming, and Mantis was able to help more by grabbing onto an alien or two and make them fall asleep. Bucky shook his head, glancing at the destroyed building once more. He started firing at the oncoming aliens again and whispered to himself, "Are the fates on our sides, or was it a certain _strange_ doctor who did the saving?"

…

How many epic space battles had he been? Like a bigillion? He had survived pirates, Infinity Stones, blue assholes, egotistical fathers, and about two dozen woman scorns. And yet, Peter Quill had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that this fight on Earth was going to be the thing that did him in. It wasn't like he was pessimistic or anything. Quite the opposite actually. He felt like he had to keep saying words of optimism with a goofy smile just so that the people around him didn't get discouraged. Mostly he was doing it for his own benefit.

But back to the actual point, there was no end in sight for this fight. No foreseeable victory. And it scared him. With Xander and the fight with Ronan, there had been a plan. With Ego, there had been hope. Hell, the first time he and his team had gone up against Thanos, although separated, he felt that they had both a plan and hope. Of course, everything went from bad to worse to shit very quickly but… Then they were rescued from the never ending forest and he was reunited with the alive Gamora and things seemed like they would finally get back to a relative normal.

Sure, Thanos was still a pain in the ass that needed to be taken care of, but the Guardians of the Galaxy were back together with their new allies, the Avengers. Together they had to be able to defeat the big jerk.

Right…?

And then there was the whole thing with his grandpa. It was his fault. He knew it was absolutely his fault and yet, he had had no problem yelling at Stark that it _wasn't_ his fault. If he was being honest with himself, it wasn't just his grandpa's kidnapping because of him thing that made him feel like the biggest screw-up in all of existence. It was the fact that if he hadn't been so absentminded and remembered his grandpa, then St. Louis would not be under attack right. He was responsible for all of this. The burning, destroyed buildings. The scared and frenzy citizens. _All of it_. And that's why seeing no victory in this scared him. If they lost or worse, if one of them died, then that would be on him too.

" _These things just keep on coming!"_ the blonde chick, who evidently had been a red-head at one point, screamed. Wasn't that the truth? These stupid, ugly aliens just kept coming. You could kill forty of them and forty more would pop out of nowhere to take their places.

" _Has anyone spotted Thanos?"_ Captain America asked slash shouted.

" _No, Cap,"_ Sam aka the Falcon answered. _"Just his patsies."_

No kidding. All there was for as far the eye could see were these hissing creatures. Peter fired his blaster guns at them and felt a mild twinge of pride that at every time he fired, he had least hit one alien, sending it flying backwards.

Before he went off on his own in the city streets, he had originally been with Captain America and his group fighting these damned things around the Busch Stadium. As time went on, the aliens spread out from the stadium and he was one of the few who went after them. Scott and the Spider-Kid went more towards the center of downtown, which lead to Scott suddenly growing into the size of Godzilla for some reason, Drax and the Blank Panther guy stayed near Captain America, and Thor went closer to the obnoxious portal in the sky and started shooting lightning at the never ending sea of alien monsters.

Peter had been on his own for almost twenty minutes, the whole time he was wishing for one of the Guardians to join so he wouldn't have to fight these creeps alone and so he could say something witty and dumb just so he could keep his mind off of their bleak state.

God must be real, or something, because _finally_ someone came and joined him.

He continued to fire his guns at the oncoming threat, when Loki showed up basically out of nowhere and threw a dagger at one of the creature's heads. The single dagger turned into ten daggers, so it actually took down ten creatures. Peter hit the button on the side of his helmet. The light blue energy morphed the helmet away so that his face was visible. "Hey, that wasn't a half bad trick, Mr. Green Jeans."

Loki glared at him and then sighed to himself. Clearly he wasn't thrilled about having to work with who he thought was the most annoying man in all of existence. And although Peter was glad to have another person nearby, he almost wished it had been somebody else who had come. Not that Loki was a bad guy or anything, he was just a bit… What was the right word? Sassy? Maybe. He felt for the guy, especially after this whole Thanos warping the poor man's mind revelation, but…it was hard to explain. It was like their entire, _friendship?_ , was based on not liking each other. Sure, there was that moment in that winter wasteland cave where Peter basically said sorry for being a "bloody jerk" in so many words. But that felt like forever ago and it felt like a fluke.

He shook all of these thoughts away and instead focused on the aliens. "How much do you wanna bet that the purple idiot isn't even going to show up?"

Loki threw another dagger that then multiplied again. "I'm not a betting man." Suddenly Loki froze, spun around, and then shouted, "Get down!"

Peter started to turn. "What-?" But Loki was already running towards him. He had good reason to run; a whole freakin' army of fliers were heading right for them. They had to run and fast! He started to take off, but immediately tripped over something. It wouldn't have surprised him if he had tripped over his own feet. Loki muttered his "stars above" catch phrase and instead of running more, simply twisted his hand. Literally, Peter was on the ground looking up at the sky, seeing the hundreds of aliens come into view and then a blink of an eye later, the scenery had completely changed. They were still on the city streets, but they were completely surrounded by new buildings and roads. And most importantly, the army was out of sight. Loki stood tall, while Peter was still sprawled out on the ground. Out of breath and honestly, a little shaken up, Peter stared at Loki in surprise from where he laid. "Dude, you saved me."

Loki threw a few stray strands of hair out of his face. "No, I simply teleported us out of the area."

Peter shook his head, not sure if the guy was being humble or just not wanting to take credit for saving him. "Well, I think that is saving me but…" Peter got himself back onto his feet. Loki had pulled out another dagger, how many of those things did he have? He seemed to be checking out their surroundings. It was a good idea, Peter hadn't thought about because of this whole his life being saved thing. Besides he had something else on his mind. He should just keep his mouth shut, but maybe not about this. "Hey, uh, remember when you said that Strange loved keeping secrets all the time and I said that you were one to talk?"

"Yes, I do. It only was a few hours ago."

"Right," Peter said clearing his throat. "Well, when I said that I was referring to how you kept secrets about what was really happening between you and the purple asshole."

It had not gone unnoticed to him that after Gamora's other two siblings had arrived in Wakanda that everyone forgot to tell Loki that they were wrong, they were sorry, and that he was a vital part of this makeshift team of ragtag heroes. That's what the Black Panther dude wanted to do. That's what everyone agreed to do. That's what Stark started to do before that Captain lady interrupted.

Well, better to be late than to never do it at all.

Loki froze again, although this time it probably wasn't because he saw a whole army heading towards them. He slowly turned to face Peter, he looked both confused and weirdly, worried. All he said was one word, "What?"

If the worry wasn't completely obvious by just looking him in the eye, then it was clear by his soft tone of voice. Peter rubbed the back of his neck. He had started this. There was no going back. "Your pal, the one who can turn green, he kinda told us all about you being brainwashed." Loki's mouth dropped open and he looked downright shocked. Peter quickly raised his hands. "Don't get mad! At me or your friend. He was just trying to put us all in our place." Loki just stood perfectly still. He then cast his eyes downwards, lost in a deep thought. Peter didn't really know what to do now. Mr. Green Jeans always had something to say, even when he was down or in a snarky mood. But this complete silence…it was scary. "Can I ask you something?" Peter said, deciding he couldn't take the awkward quiet anymore. "How did you even end up on Thanos's ship? And how did you break free from his control?"

Loki closed his eyes, looking like he had a massive headache. "That's really none of your business, is it?" he snapped.

The snapping put Peter on the defense. "Just curious, man. You don't have to get all moody."

Loki spun around so that he was facing him straight on. He did not look happy. "Oh, really? _I don't?_ See, this is why I didn't want anyone knowing. You have no idea what it was like! And here you are doing your usual thing. Making everything, including my pain, into a damned joke!"

Oh, man… He had struck a nerve. Not at all what he was trying to do.

He didn't know what to do. Approach him, stay quiet? No, he couldn't do that. He had to say something. "Man…I…" He didn't know what to say. Literally say anything! Peter swallowed and decided on the truth. "That wasn't my intension, okay? I just, I have the knack for being overly comical and stupid during times of crisis. It's a personality flaw. You're right, I have no idea what you went through and I don't pretend to know." The burning rage in Loki's eyes seemed to simmer down slightly, but all of the conflicting emotions were still swirling around inside him. Man, how had the dude not had a breakdown yet? Peter could barely keep himself together when he _was_ emotionally stable. He knew he shouldn't say anything else, but he felt like he had to lighten the mood a bit or change the subject. It was his personality flaw after all. "Well, actually there was this one time when my dad tried to warp my mind so that I would go along with his completely bat shit crazy plan to destroy the galaxy. Joke was on him though. When he told me that he was responsible for my mother's death, it snapped me right out of it."

Loki started like he had been hit. "Your mother's death snapped you out of your father's hold on you?"

"Well, it wasn't her death. It was the fact that my old man was the reason she died."

Loki nodded. He glanced at the ground. "Still…" He looked back up at him with piercing eyes. "You were close to your mother, then?"

Peter had no idea where this was going but he figured he had angered the guy so, humor him. "Yeah. She always believed that I would do something amazing. She even gave me my Walkman." He half smiled in fond remembrance of sitting in the grass with his mom listening to Looking Glass and Blue Swede sing their amazing compositions.

"Fascinating," Loki muttered, pulling Peter from his happy childhood memories.

"What is?"

Loki half smiled and pointed between the two of them. "I didn't think we had anything in common with each other…besides smartass comebacks." Peter had to agree with that, but Loki gave him a knowing look. "My mother was the only person who always cared about me even when I went and…well, tried to take over Earth. When I found out she was killed I broke free from Thanos's hold on me."

Well, son of a bitch.

"Oh…" That's all Peter could say, because what was he supposed to say?

"Yeah…" Loki said with a nod and a frown. "It's not a good feeling. Clarity, just to be bombarded with heartbreak. It's-"

"No," Peter stopped him with a wave of the hand. He knew what it was like to relive his own losses, especially his mother. There was nothing else in this world like a mother's love. And to have it snatched away… "I get it. I do… Sorry."

"For what?"

"…Everything."

"That's specific," Loki chuckled.

Peter brushed him off. "Whatever, dude, you know what I mean."

Loki nodded in agreement. "I do."

There was a new air of understanding around them now. They couldn't go back to being complete jackasses to each other all the time, not after this revelation. Maybe Peter had been wrong. Maybe their friendship didn't have to be solely based on not liking each other. Maybe they could be civil. Maybe they could actually be friends.

Loki cleared his throat after neither of them had spoken for about a minute. "You said, uh, that your father wanted to destroy the galaxy?"

Peter sighed, happy to be able talk about something and fill in the silence. "Yeah. He had problems."

"I believe Nebula told me the story, but if you want to tell me it again, that's fine."

"Well, you see…" Peter told the fastest, quickest, and straight to the point version of what happened with his dad, the planet. There were times when the fact that his biological father was a freakin' planet, bothered the hell out of him. "When Ego died so did my connection with the light." Loki smirked at that, like he knew the answer to an unsolvable problem. "What?"

Loki slightly paced around him as he spoke. "If you are part Celestial like you say, then shouldn't you be able to form and manipulate your own light, as you call it?"

Peter shook his head. "No, you see…" _Wait_. "Well…" Could he produce his own light? "Huh. I don't know."

Loki shrugged his shoulders. "Food for thought I suppose."

"I guess so." Why was this guy so abnormally clever? It made everyone else, including himself, look bad. Well, maybe it was just him. He did have a knack for not being able to think sometimes.

"Now," Loki said making another dagger appear in his other hand, "come on Star-Lord. We've stood here doing nothing for far too long."

Peter was so incredibly happy that someone finally got his name right that he almost had to ask what Loki was talking about. But of course it hit him: the alien army destroying the city he had spent time in during his visits to his grandpa. Mr. Green Jeans was right, they had been standing around for too long. He was almost surprised that no one over the comms had yelled at them to get back to work. He smiled his goofy smile, pulled out his blaster guns, and said, "I agree with you on that one. Let's kill some creatures!"

…

" _Nothing ever can be easy,"_ Strange grumbled. He, of course, was referring to the spreading, bright orange fires. Most of the Avengers who weren't too busy with just trying to stay alive, were attempting to fight the fires. And while Stark and Rhodey had some sort of fire extinguisher liquid in their suits that they both deployed in different parts of the city, it was pretty much a losing battle.

" _These fires are really getting out of hand!"_ Wanda shouted. It needn't be said to know. Loki personally could feel the extreme heat coming from every direction. He knew he was super sensitive to the flames but still.

" _Okay,"_ Stark said, clearly fed up with the fires. _"Does anyone on our side have some great new powers that are the opposite of heat and fire? Or literally any idea whatsoever? I'm open to suggestions."_

He said he wanted suggestions and boy did he get one. Scott replied, _"Hey, maybe I can make a bucket of water grow and I can put out the fires when I'm giant."_ No one said a word. _"Given the silence, I'm going to say never mind."_

" _I don't know,"_ Peter said, swinging from the towering buildings in the distance. _"That sounds like it would work!"_

" _Let's just call that "Plan B", alright?"_ Gamora said.

Loki stood back to back with Quill of all people, taking on the Outriders and Chitauri. Quill fired his handheld guns while he conjured up and threw his daggers. It did still shock him that he and the obnoxious Peter Quill had something in common after all. And it wasn't just that they had problems with each other, it was something that they could actually bond over. The foundations of a real friendship. Although, he had the feeling that he would still be annoyed by Quill and his inability to think sometimes. But that was okay. A person could be ticked off at their friend.

A machine gun went off nearby as well as another type of blaster, causing Loki and Quill to turn to see what was happening. Bucky and Hope were joining them. Bucky waved, happy to see them alive and then went back to mowing down the enemy. Hope had these blasters around her wrists that she was using to stun the creatures. After they were stunned she would knock they down and if a creature with its knurling teeth got to close, she simply shrank to the size of an insect, flew a bit away, and then got the drop on the confused alien.

While the four of them focused of the hordes of enemies around them, Loki thought back to the problem of putting out the fires. What they needed was something or someone who had the exact opposite powers as Thane. Perhaps, someone with the power to bend water or even ice or-Wait. That was the answer! "The Casket," he said thinking out loud. Chitauri fliers were circling high in the sky above them, threatening to swoop down and fire upon them. Bucky, Quill, and Hope started to retreat. Loki was still lost in his own thoughts and his breakthrough. "I have the Casket!"

One of the retreating people was so kind to grab Loki's arm and pull him along with them, out of the cross fires. But when he glanced over to see who had saved him, he was startled to see that it was Nebula. When had she joined their group? They all reached the shelter of a narrow alley way. Bucky started reloading his gun, Hope's helmet opened up and she blew her hair out of her face, Quill just started twirling his blaster guns around for absolutely no reason, and Loki looked Nebula over. No cuts or bruises were visual and she held herself up straight and strong like she always did, so clearly she wasn't hurt. That was good. That was _really_ good. Her red jacket was slightly burnt in some places and the metal of her hand seemed dimmer and duller from being covered in dirt and blood. But she was alive, and that's all that mattered. While she brushed herself off, he started to tell her, "Um, thank you for pulling me-"

When Nebula heard this and caught his grateful gaze, she just rolled her eyes at him. " _Get over it_. Also, you should try to have your breakthroughs when horrible alien creatures aren't firing at you."

Loki smirked at her feistiness. "I'll certainly keep that in mind."

" _Wait,"_ Rocket started, _"back up… Drax, get back here!"_ Loki smirked at that too. _"What casket? What are ya talkin' about?"_

"It's a relic from Jotunheim," Loki explained. "It can freeze anything."

Stark flew over their heads and went towards the Arch, where fires were also threatening the landmark. _"I like the sound of that. Go for it, Reindeer Games. Just don't freeze me!"_

Loki nodded and took a step away from the alley wall. There was a fire straight ahead of them, not too far away. It was devouring an old brick apartment building. All he had to do was conjure up the Casket, freeze the fire, and then move on to the next one. Simple, easy plan. And yet he hesitated. For almost two minutes.

Quill nudged him in the arm. "This is where you go out there with your relic thing and do your stuff."

Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Thank you, Quill. I know. I just…" He trailed off and found himself staring at his left hand. The one that on that fateful day in Jotunheim, had turned blue when a Frost Giant had grabbed hold of him. The one that had told him that his life had been a lie. He recalled back to those days before he had fallen into the abyss but just after he had had this chilling revelation and remembered how terrified he was that his pale complexion would simply vanish showing his true form. He had imagined how appalled the people of Asgard would have been had they found out what he truly was. A _Jotun_. Now, he was going to show people willingly? He turned his hand over to make sure it was still normal looking. It was. He shook his head. "Maybe this is a bad idea."

Valkyrie didn't hold back on her tone. _"Then why the hell did you bring it up?"_

Hope tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn. She looked at him worriedly. "Hey, you okay?"

He shook his head but lied, "Yes. Of course."

"Of course?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You said "of course" the same way I did when Scott asked if I liked meeting his friends. Of course I did, but secretly I was thinking that this was the longest day of my life."

" _Wait,"_ Scott said surprised. _"You didn't like meeting my friends?"_

"The point is," Hope said, ignoring her boyfriend, "if you're not okay with doing this for whatever reason, then don't feel obligated to do it. And if anyone has a problem with your decision, I'll back you up. I won't sit ideally by again, I promise you that."

Translation: She was sorry for how she had just stood there along with everyone else and had watched Agent Barton chew him out. And she would never do something like that again. Loki smiled, he really did like Hope. "Thank you, Hope." With her apology accepted, Hope let out a breath she had been holding and nodded. It took him aback actually, it was like she was so scared he wouldn't have forgiven her or the others. Truth be told, holding grudges wasn't something he did very often. Unless of course they were talking about Thanos, then that was a different story.

"Yeah. This is great," Quill agreed, though he shattered the moment by doing so. "A little motivational speech to get us pumped up." Loki, Nebula, Bucky, and Hope all just gave him a, really?, look. Quill clapped his hands together. "Too soon to start talking? Gotcha."

Nebula sassily rolled her eyes at him. Loki smirked at the display of obvious contempt for Quill. Nebula then focused all of her attention on him. "Loki, I know why you're hesitant and I understand. It's hard to show people what you really are." She glanced down at her own hands. Loki followed her gaze, her left hand was the metal one. He let out a sigh. It was so easy to get wrapped up in his own self-esteem issues and to forget that there were in fact others out there who had the same issues that he had. Some had it worse off. Nebula, who had her body parts replaced with _machinery_ , probably looked at him and thought he was lucky. In many ways, he supposed he was.

He put both of his hands on her shoulders. She stared up at him in surprise. He softly said, "You are a braver and stronger person then I am to do so for so long. I know I have no real reason to fear showing them my…true form, but what can I say? I have doubts."

Nebula's eyes shined with understanding and a slight vulnerability. It almost hurt to see her looking so sad but she swallowed down some of her more visible emotions and pulled herself together. She looked him right in the eye, flawless black meeting emerald green. "No one is forcing you to do this, but if you do then you should know that they're your friends and they will accept you."

The realization hit him like a sucker punch to the stomach. He let out a breathless chuckle. "They _are_ my friends." Nebula nodded as if it were obvious. And it was. It so clearly was and he had known this for a while now but…it felt _real_. Truly real. It was hard to explain. He knew that these two obnoxious, selfless superhero groups cared about him, some individuals more than others, but now he was actually feeling what he had always thought people with their friends felt like: Like he could be himself with no fear of ridicule. And he truly believed they wouldn't ridicule him or shun him.

Considering he had never had any friends before this, it did not surprise him that it took this long for him to realize that he did not have to hide himself. He could trust them.

 _Sometimes the answer is so obvious it's blinding._

Suddenly feeling a new sense of confidence, he took his hands away from Nebula and smiled a knowing smile. "Thank you, Nebula." With a rush of adrenalin and a spark of mischief, Loki stepped back up to where he had been before, slightly ahead of the group, and conjured up the glowing blue Casket. It had been awhile since he had last used the Casket and even then, he had only used it once. But it was simple, he held onto it and directed the blast of concentrated ice that came from the relic at the roaring fire nearby. He swallowed down the uneasy feeling that stirred inside him as he saw his hands change to the shade of Frost Giant blue. He knew the blue wouldn't stop at just his hands, it would spread across his whole body soon, showing his true form. He didn't have time to waste by being concerned, so he focused on distinguishing fire.

He could feel the four behind at stare at him, but not with horror and disgust like he had always thought, but with astonishment. It warmed his heart to be proven wrong. Quill sputtered out, "O-okay, so…um, he's blue. Why-why is he blue? Would, uh, someone like to explain this?"

"Adopted, remember?" Loki called over his shoulder. The fire began to die down in the old apartment building and some of the flames were frozen solid, suspended like a work of art. The building was frosted over, and the ice would have to melt before anyone could go in and assess the damage but at the very least the flames weren't tearing it apart. Loki didn't know what happened but suddenly the Casket and trapped ancient winters inside it began to spark. Soon there were little flashes of snow and ice coming from the relic.

 _That's interesting._

"What the…why'd you turn the AC on?" Quill asked, pointing at the sky.

 _What was he talking about-oh!_

Rolling, dark gray clouds had appeared in the sky almost instantly and out of nowhere. They blocked out the sun. A sharp and cold wind whistled through the air. Not long after that, it began to snow.

"Is this you?" Bucky asked, staring at the light flakes coming down.

Loki glanced at the Casket in his hands, then up at the gray clouds, and then back at the Casket in as much shock as everyone else. Again, he had only ever used the relic once. He had no idea what other powers came with it other than freezing things and people. He just shook his head dumbfounded. "Um…maybe?"

Bucky muttered, "Pretty cool."

Loki glanced back at him. "Puns?" Bucky shrugged. The snow that was falling was no ordinary snow either. When it started to land on the ground and the people on the ground, it was normal snow, but the second it touched the buildings and the fires in them, it started to freeze over the flames.

Loki had no idea how that was even possible. Snow shouldn't be able to do that…right? He glanced over the amazing relic in his hand, the one thing from a life he never knew. All those years on Asgard he had learned that Jotunheim and their powers were weak. Their Casket was taken away from them but the power in said Casket was laughable. Another lie proven false.

Thor sounded as amazed and intrigued as Loki felt, _"I didn't know that the Casket could do that."_

Loki nodded. "Me either."

Peter happily exclaimed, _"Mr. Loki, you're just like Elsa!"_

That made him laugh out loud. "Well, the cold never bothered me anyways."

" _Hey guys,"_ Agent Barton interrupted, _"if you're all done gawking at the change in weather then maybe you could all get to the stadium."_

"Why?" Quill asked.

Barton sounded winded and slightly annoyed when he said, _"Oh, I don't know, because Thane is there and he looks like he is about to set it all ablaze."_

" _Loki, get to the stadium a.s.a.p.,"_ Steve said.

He didn't have to explain why he wanted Loki to get their as soon as possible. It was clear that the plan was to fight fire with ice. Loki nodded and made the Casket disappear with a wave of his arms. His skin and eye color started to change back immediately. "I'm on my way."

The dear Captain wasn't finished giving orders though. _"Hope, Bucky, I need you to get back to the Capitol building. There's an army of Outriders looking for trouble. Give it to them."_

Bucky nodded his head at the order. "Sure thing." And with a glance over at the group, the metal-armed man took off running to the south, back to the Capitol.

Hope, still close to Loki, squeezed his arm and muttered a hopeful, "See you later."

Loki half smiled but still said a grim, "If we're that lucky."

Hope's wings unfolded from her back, her helmet latched closed, and then she flew up into the air with the grace of a dancer. "If we're that lucky," Quill repeated, shaking his head. "Dude, why do you gotta be so pessimistic all the time?"

Loki ignored him for the time being because another voice came over the comm. It was Natasha. _"Guys, there's a whole squadron heading for the interstate again. Anybody copy me?"_

" _I hear you,"_ Gamora said.

" _Me too,"_ Valkyrie added.

Nebula looked Loki right in the eye and he knew from that look alone that she wasn't going with him to the stadium. "I do too," she said. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Be careful." The words had slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself. He immediately started regretting it.

 _What an idiotic thing to say. Of course, she knows to be careful._

She raised an eyebrow, amused. "Always."

He would have loved to point out that she had no business finding his concern for her funny, not when a few hours ago she had told him to not die, but he bit his tongue. He didn't have to have a comeback for everything he supposed. Instead he let her walk away from him, _again_ , still wearing an amused little smile.

It wasn't until she had started shrinking into the distance that Quill, very deliberately, cleared his throat. Loki half turned towards him. "Are you gonna stare after her all day or can we go to the stadium now?"

Loki sent an icy glare Quill's way, although he had a valid point. He did need to head for the stadium. He started walking at a fast pace, forcing Quill to have to run in order to catch up. "I'm going. And what do you mean _"_ we _"_?"

Quill laughed, "Like I'm gonna let you have all the fun with defeating this Thane guy!"

By the time Loki and Quill reached the huge circular white, red, and black stadium, Thane was already there burning down sections of the lower seating. They weren't the only ones to show up. Thor and Sam flew in though Sam used his jet pack wings and Thor used his mighty axe. Rocket, Mantis, and Drax had showed up together were trying to distract Thane while the two fliers went around him and planned to attack from behind. Thane was many things, but an idiot was not one of them. He threw a wave of fire all around him, causing the three Guardians to fall back and the two fliers to crash to the ground.

"Oh, man," Quill muttered. He ran for his three team mates and rightfully so. Loki watched as Thor got back to his feet and readied his axe. Thane however had readied a ball of pure white fire and chuckled darkly as he threw it at Thor. Thor shot his lightning at the ball of fire but it did nothing because it was just a ball of fire.

Loki just shook his head, too annoyed to actually fear for Thor's life. "Always an oaf. Thor, move!" When he didn't, Loki conjured and threw a green shield at him, knocking him out of the way. Without probably thinking this all the way through, Loki sprinted towards Thane. "Hey!" Thane saw him and looked mildly surprised to see him running at him. But his gaze turned down right petrified when Loki conjured up the Casket and fired the ice within it at him.

It took no longer than thirty seconds, and then Thane was encased and suspended in thick ice. Loki kept adding layers of ice to him though, for fear that Thane would break out. After all, Heimdal had broken out of his ice. When he was somewhat confident that the ice would keep Thane trapped, even if only for an hour or two, Loki stopped and waved the Casket away again.

Quill helped Mantis and Drax to his feet. Rocket stayed where he sat as he looked at Loki with his blue skin slowly changing back to normal. The raccoon rubbed his eyes like he didn't believe it and then just stared at him, looking completely lost. "Wait-what-you? I thought you were an Asgardian?"

Loki sighed, "Adopted, remember? How else would I have been able to use the Casket?"

"Fair point but still," the raccoon shook his head, "what a turn of events."

"Brother," Thor said coming up to him to pat his shoulder. "You did it." Thor looked absolutely like the proud big brother that he was. It made Loki smile. So did the fact that besides a few shocked faces no one was making a big deal out of his true Jotun form.

Quill had stepped cautiously up to the frozen Thane and tapped on his arm. He whistled impressed. "Talk about a popsicle."

Drax laughed at heartily at the turn of events. "Ha, ha! All our enemies will beware now, or the elegant Key-Low will incase them in his frosty ice and snow!"

Loki rolled his eyes at his name being said wrong _again_ and at this over praise. "Oh, for star's sake! It is not that big a deal."

"Yes it is!" Mantis said, disagreeing. "You saved all of us and this stadium. You should freeze all of the bad guys then we would be finished much faster. You should even freeze Thanos."

There was a pause. Loki thought the idea was ridiculous, but almost immediately he knew that the group's opinion was the exact opposite of his.

 _Bloody hell…_

Quill nodded his head. "You know, that's not a half bad idea."

Loki half glared at him. "It's not _half bad_ , it's bloody terrible."

"Brother. Having hope that our endeavors will work out in the end, remember?" Thor said, softly reminding him.

Loki sighed, almost feeling exasperated. "I remember. _Yes_. However, I do not know about-"

Sam clapped him on the back. "Come on, man. You gotta have a little more faith. This should work."

Loki couldn't help but scoff at Sam's last statement. "Yes, well, it's the "should" part that bothers me." He looked around at the group of people and was slightly annoyed at their encouraging faces. Not because their encouragement was unwanted but because this plan of freezing Thanos would not work. Period. But they kept on giving him these, don't worry, you can do it, looks. How was he supposed to say no to that? "Oh, fine!" he said, throwing his hands in the air. "If the time arises, I will _think_ about it. _There_. Is that what you all wanted?"

"Yup," Rocket said crossing his arms. "Well, now that that is taken care of, let's go and kill some more guys."

Loki shook his head in disbelief. "I said it once and I'll say it again-"

"If it has anything to do with me being a cute woodland animal, clam up!" Rocket barked.

Loki just smirked at the raccoon. "Fierce little thing, aren't you?"

Rocket nodded with an appreciatory smile. "Now, "fierce" I can live with."

…

Rhodey's voice rang in Steve's ear. _"Cap, I see him."_

He finished punching an Outrider in the stomach with his semi new vibranium shields, courtesy of Shuri the Princess of Wakanda. As much as he missed his old red, white, and blue one and the memories associated with it, these two did have their advantages. Such as the metal prongs sticking out of the edges. They made each punch more effective and damaging. "Thanos?" he asked after the creature finally stayed down.

" _Yeah."_

Steve blew a few strands of hair out of his face and stood up straight, scanning the skies for any sign of Rhodey. "Where are you?"

 _"Right here."_ Rhodey flew twenty feet over his head. He was heading south and was determined to get to Thanos as quickly as possible.

So was Steve. He took of sprinting as soon as he saw Rhodey. T'Challa, who had been helping him fight off the Outriders and Chitauri, ran beside him. They were about four blocks away from where they had started when Steve told everyone over the comm, "Everybody copy that? Thanos has entered the fight. I repeat, Thanos has entered the fight!"

" _Steve,"_ Tony said, sounding winded, _"I see our man but I can't get away from these guys."_ He was referring to the Chitauri fliers that were kept on his tail. _"They seem to be dead set on playing follow the leader with me as the leader."_

Steve sighed. They could really use Tony's help but they would have to make do with whoever else they got to help them. "You worry about them."

" _And I hate to say this, Cap, but the whole team looks like they're busy to the max."_

Steve sighed again because he knew what that meant: He, T'Challa, and Rhodey would be taking on Thanos all by themselves. T'Challa calmly said, "Well, Captain, I guess it is up to us." Steve always liked the young king, even when he was fighting him during the whole misunderstanding with Bucky, the U.N. bombing, and the Accords. He was such a good man and a stoic. A better man then he.

"Yes," a voice to Steve's right said. He turned to look and saw the bald, shirtless man who had said he was just as manly as Thor, whatever that meant. He believed his name was Drax and he stared at him in surprise, because he had shown up out of nowhere and because of the gleeful look pasted all over his face. Apparently, Drax was more than eager to take on the purple-pink alien. "We shall vanquish the Titan fiend together!"

Steve did not really know too much about the Guardians of the Galaxy. But he knew they were heroic, wanted to help, and in the case of Gamora and her sister, Nebula, had every reason to want to defeat Thanos. Maybe they were a bit odd, but he knew all he needed. Steve smiled and nodded at Drax. "That's what I said, together."

The three men continued running until they found Rhodey firing missiles at the strong and looming figure that was Thanos. The giant man captured all of the fire and power of the missiles with his Gauntlet and with almost no effort, slammed Rhodey with a blast of the concentrated energy. He was sent flying away from him and through the brick building a few feet away. There was no time to check on Rhodey to see if he was okay or to even think about calling for somebody to check on him. "Thanos!" Drax yelled, hurling one of his knives with the curled handles at Thanos's head. Thanos clenched the fist with the Gauntlet on and a blue shield froze the knife before it hit him. Drax hollered a war cry and charged forwards. Thanos prevented Drax from reaching him by hitting him with a surge of purple energy. The poor man flew backwards, landing on the pavement hard. He didn't get back up. Steve and T'Challa ran at the same pace to get to Thanos. When they finally reached him, T'Challa jumped for the giant alien, but Thanos caught him by the neck. He tossed him away like he was a ragdoll and clenched his fist again. Red energy swirled around some burning debris and T'Challa phased right through it. When Thanos unclenched his fist, T'Challa was pinned under the debris.

That left only Steve.

He screeched to a halt. He stood tall and eyed Thanos as he tightened the straps of his gray shields on both of his arms. Thanos did not move to use the stones to quickly dispatch Steve. Instead he eyed him with recognition and stated, "I recognize you from the earlier confrontation. You are human, but you are not an ordinary being." He took a moment to nod at Steve with a look that said that he was genuinely impressed. "You have my respect."

"Keep it," Steve snapped. He wasted no time in taking a fighter's stance.

Thanos shook his head, almost like he was disappointed. "I have defeated you once, how long do you think you will last against me a second time?"

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "I can do this all day."

Thanos smiled at the challenge. "We'll soon see, won't we?"

Steve ran for him, swinging his arms, managing to catch Thanos by the chin. Though it felt like his strength was wasted, he could not seem to drawl a single drop of blood. Thanos swung his arm hand and hit Steve upside the head. He fell to the ground, hard, but he got back to his feet. He tried to out maneuver Thanos, to use his size and strength against him. Again this seemed like a waste of dwindling energy. Thanos just sighed and kicked him back to the ground.

Steve got back up.

Thanos frowned, annoyed. This time he clenched his fist and all six stones lit up. With a grunt, Thanos created a ball of rainbow colored light. Before Steve knew what was happening, the powerful blast of combined energy was thrown at him and struck him on his left side. It felt like a million tiny daggers stabbed deep into his skin. With a shout and a groan he felt himself get thrown down to the concrete road. He found himself shaking from the shock and when he coughed slightly, blood dripped from his mouth. "Stay down, boy. I could kill you right now if I wanted to," Thanos said, talking down at him, seemingly enjoying the satisfaction of having his life in the palm of his hand. "But destiny has different plans in store for you."

Steve's shaky hand felt his reddening side and grimaced at the pain that shot through him. He was no doctor but if he had to guess, he would say he had a broken rib or two. Maybe three. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet. Through the intensity of the pain, he pushed himself off of the ground and back onto his feet. He wrapped his right arm around his midsection to try and keep the bleeding down to a minimal. Thanos eyed him in surprise. Steve wiped the blood from his lips and tried his hardest to glare the monster down. "You're not going to win this. Even if we fail," he had to pause because he felt his vision start to blur. But he was too stubborn to go unconscious until he finished warning Thanos that a storm _would_ come for him. "Others will rise up…and reverse what you have done…we will do…whatever it takes."

Thanos smiled, impressed. At that point, Steve couldn't hang on anymore. He collapsed back to his knees and felt his head spin. He had the reputation that he had the stamina to fight all day, any day, but right at this moment…he just felt _tired_. Despite feeling like his life was slowly draining out of him, he could feel the presence of Thanos stalking closer to him. His deep, almost soothing voice was the last thing he heard before completely blacking out. "You and Stark are a good duo to lead your heroes. I'm sure that when you both die, you will be remembered fondly."

…

"Duck!" Gamora and Valkyrie cried at the same time. Nebula fell to her knees as her sister and Asgardian warrior both swung their swords just slightly above her head and caught a very close Chitauri in the mouth and neck with their blades.

Nebula caught her breath and was back on her feet in no time. Gamora and Valkyrie had both removed their swords from the now dead alien and they both wiped off the excess blood at the same time. Nebula just shook her head. "You two work ridiculously well together."

Valkyrie shrugged nonchalantly. "You're not wrong. I think I may have finally found an equal on the battlefield." She smiled and winked at Gamora, who only nodded in agreement. "Although, to be fair I've never seen Okoye in action and she seems like an equal in every other since of the word."

"She's a formidable opponent as well," Gamora said pointing further down the high rise road they were all fighting on. She was pointing to Natasha, the blonde and deadly agent. Deadly was a good word for her. She kicked an Outrider's feet right from under it and shot it twice in the head before it could get up.

Natasha blew her messy hair out of her face and wiped the blood of the Outrider off of her face. When she saw the other three women staring at her, she said, "You guys going to stand there all day?"

"No," Valkyrie said swinging her sword around experimentally. "I'm just waiting for the next batch of bastards."

Gamora looked at her with her usual serious gaze. "You enjoy this too much."

Valkyrie scoffed, "There is never such a thing as too much enjoyment."

Nebula shook her head. She saw why Loki wasn't a fan of Valkyrie. "That remains to be seen." Suddenly a Chitauri jumped from a passing hovercraft. Nebula felt him slam into her and besides the instant pain, she also felt the wind get knocked out of her. The weight of the Chitauri was thrown off of her by one of the three remaining women. Miraculously, the only thing that seemed to be broken was her left leg. And by broken she meant completely shattered. From her ankle up to her hip, she could feel the metal pieces out of place and stabbing the little skin that surrounded the machinery.

She clenched her teeth through the pain and felt Gamora's hand on her back. "Nebula. It's okay, I got you."

Natasha looked at the state of her leg and started to say over the comms, "We need some help down here!"

Nebula shook her head rapidly. "No we don't." In a grunt of pain, her leg began to reset itself. It only lasted fifteen seconds, but God, it felt longer.

Valkyrie's eyes widened. "Whoa."

Natasha however just looked lost. "Your leg…you're alright?"

She was never _alright_. But she nodded her head anyways as she accepted Gamora's hand. Soon she was standing up straight again much to Natasha and Valkyrie's surprise. "The machinery automatically resets itself whenever it is out of alignment."

Valkyrie flinched at the thought and eyed Nebula's leg, along with the rest of her. "It looks like it would hurt."

"It does." Every time. And every day even when the parts were aligned correctly…

"You should have been there when she got all of her replacements." Nebula's eye widened as she looked to Gamora, who looked as equally startled. They both turned and saw who the voice belonged to. Super Giant was strolling towards them with her arms crossed and a cruel smile plastered over her face. "Crying and screaming. No high pain tolerance, huh sister?"

Nebula wanted to spit something venomous at her or at the very least throw a sword at her head. Gamora's grip on her hand tightened to hold her back. Gamora started to say, "Super Giant-"

But Super Giant just shook her head. "Nope." The four women suddenly all dropped to their knees, clenching at their heads feeling the blinding pain. Super Giant glared daggers at Gamora but she still had the smile on her face. "Not today, Gamora. You could talk dad into believing anything, but not me. He always thought you were so strong but here you are graveling at my feet."

Natasha clenched her fists and muttered, "Only…because of…your powers."

"What's that Blondie?" Super Giant asked, holding a hand to her ear mockingly.

Natasha managed to grunt out, "If you…really wanted to prove your strength…you won't take the coward's way out."

Super Giant's eyes widened. She dropped her hand and stepped over to where Natasha lay on the concrete. She said through gritted teeth, "I beg your pardon?"

"Your telepathy…is a shield…you're hiding behind."

Super Giant glared at the woman, breathing deeply. Then suddenly the pain had been lifted and Super Giant un-sheaves two long swords from her belt. " _Fine_. Four against one, the traditional way and I'll still end up winning."

The four women all glanced at each other and then charged for the telepath. Natasha reached her first to which Super Giant punched her in the face. The deadly assassin was down. Nebula was no match for Super Giant in hand to hand combat so it was no surprise to her when she was thrown backwards by the uppity bitch. That left the two warrior women, who were doing rather well with keeping Super Giant on her toes. Gamora and Valkyrie swung their swords again at the same time, Super Giant used her two swords to block them, leaving them at a standstill. "What did you do with Peter's grandfather?" Gamora shouted.

"Oh, that old human," Super Giant chuckled as she struggled to keep Gamora and Valkyrie's blades at bay. "He's alive, for now. When the new fifteen are secured, they all will die."

"That's not gonna happen lady!" Valkyrie said with a sassy attitude.

Super Giant eyed them with a knowing look. "You misunderstand, we already have ten out of the fifteen."

" _What?_ " It took Nebula a moment to realize that she had been the one to speak.

Super Giant smiled widely. "Yes. I believe their names are, Bruce, Pepper, Darcy, Ned, Shuri, Christine, Laura, Steve, Rhodey, and of course," she glared at Gamora, "your boyfriend's granddad." Oh, god. Oh, no. This couldn't be right. But it was. "Oh, look at you all! So surprised!" Super Giant laughed as she mocked them. "What did you think was going to happen if you left them behind? That we would miraculously forget about them and move on? You are all such idiots!" She found the strength to push Gamora and Valkyrie away from her. In that short window of time she reached for her pocket and before anyone could tackle her or do something to stop her, she threw a flash bomb at the two women. When it went off they were flown backwards. Super Giant slowly sheaved her swords and she snapped her fingers. Two Chitauri landed beside her, awaiting orders. "I want Blondie and my deformed, cyborg sister."

Nebula's eyes widened as the world halting panic seized her. One of the Chitauri yanked her up by her arm, the other carried the unconscious Natasha. All Nebula could do was scream and struggle to get away. Death's grip had found its way back to her again. In a very short period time she would be dead along with the others who were taken. And she couldn't even say good-bye to her loved ones. Gamora shouted, "No!" Super Giant paused and glanced at her over her shoulder. "Take me, not her. Please, Super Giant. You hate me more than her."

Nebula felt her heart break at the thought that Gamora wanted to take her place. Super Giant cruelly smirked and faced Gamora head on with her hands planted on her hips. "True, but it really is sweet. How you care about her so much. And this is a far better way to hurt you anyways." She snapped her fingers again and the Chitauri continued to take Nebula and Natasha away. Gamora looked like a broken woman who had just lost everything. Her eyes were filled with tears. It just broke Nebula's heart again.

Super Giant causally strolled away from the two women sprawled out on the ground. When she reached the Chitauri and their prisoners, she turned back around. As if she couldn't be any crueler, she added with gleeful tone, "Tell the Asgardian I stole away his precious little friend."

Nebula squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to think about how this would affect Loki. The thought of her sister looking heartbroken and terrified, hurt too much. And thinking of how Loki would react to the news of her capture…

 _Oh, God…_

She was never going to see him again.

She was never going to get to talk with him into the early morning hours. To laugh and to feel like she wasn't some freak of nature. Death had lost its powerful grip on her years ago. It was the pain that scared her. Especially the pain of knowing she would die alone and he would have to live with her loss.

It wasn't… _fair_.

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 _Author's Note Again: Please don't hit me! I know, big ass cliffhanger and a painful one at that. (I don't know if I should tell you this but I plan on leaving the next chapter with an even worse cliffhanger. Maybe it will make you feel better about this one? No…? Okay.)_

 _I'm cruel, I know, but I have a feeling I am going to be a lot nicer than a certain duo of directing brothers that with go unnamed. (I'm looking at you Russos.) But I hope you enjoyed the chapter and having another chapter so soon. Still haven't seen Endgame so no spoilers in the reviews please. I plan on seeing it today at 8 o'clock in the evening…the time will not go fast enough!_

 _Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it. And I hope you enjoy Endgame whenever you see it, or that enjoyed Endgame when you already saw it._

 _ **I HAVE A REQUEST!**_ _(It might see like a weird request but here me out.) So for a class I had last fall and a class I had this spring, I had to make a blog and a website. The blog is not that important, but the website is to get me out there in the mass communication industry, preferably as a film editor, because that's what I want to do. And I have no money to buy a domain. So…are you willing to help a girl out? If you give me your email address in a review or PM and I will send you an email with my website (and blog) URL. And if you guys want to send that email to others that would be great too. I just want to spread the word out. And if no one sends me their email…cool. That's fine too._

 _ **Also** , if you do decide to give me your email, type it out in words. Example: thegirlwholikestoomuchstuffatgmaildotcom. FanFiction gets very weird and doesn't let me __see it if it has the at symbol or the dot com. Thanks again, bye!_


	21. Chapter Eighteen

_Author's Note: On May 9_ _th_ _, 2018 I published the first chapter (Prologue: The 1,325 Year Old Promise) to this story. It's been over a year, guys! The years always have a way of speeding by, but the thing I can't believe is how far my story has gone and how much attention this little story has gained over this past year. It's ridiculous! I feel that I would still be writing this story even if no one reviewed it, followed it, or favorite it but the fact that all of you have is what keeps me writing this thing at the pace I have been doing (although I slowed way down during the school year and this summer, which most of you already know)._

 _Anyways, I just wanted to do a little, look it's been a year, section before going on to the next chapter. Also, I have many thoughts about Avengers: Endgame but I will talk more about that in my Author's Note Again, so on to the story! I also should let you know, that I cannot be held accountable for pulling at your heartstrings especially after then epic and infuriating Endgame._

 _(P.S. Special shout out to_ _ **Hfiorella18**_ _and_ _ **Aelyanne**_ _for giving me their email so I could send them my website. You two were the only ones!_

 _Because of_ _ **TheUndefeatable**_ _, I have started to post this story onto AO3 (Archive of Our Own). It's a bit slow going but I'm hopeful that it will all be posted on the site soon._

 _To_ _ **Martha**_ _, the app is , although soon it will also be Archive of Our Own, so either one. And yes, yes, yes! I would be so honored if you drew pictures based on my story! Put them on Instagram, you have my blessing. Please give me the link when you are done. Also, might I ask, what where you planning on drawing?_

 _Also,_ _ **22fwright**_ _, your scene is here!)_

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 _Chapter Eighteen: "There Was No Other Way"_

The snowy gray clouds continued to loam over St. Louis. Loki had half expected the weather to clear up back to the sunny, warm morning that it had been before he had used the Casket, but apparently that wasn't the case. If he hadn't been too concerned with staying alive by fighting the overwhelming amount of Chitauri and Outriders that were _still_ pouring through the city streets and if he hadn't been too busy with more pressing thoughts, he might have been worried as to how the suddenly winter weather would change back to normal. But all things concerned, a little cold spell wasn't the end of the world.

At least, not for him.

A few people had expressed their dislike for the weather change.

"It just had to be snow," Sam muttered as he fired his two handheld guns at two Outriders. His metal wings came out of his pact and he took off in the air, just to come flying down to kick several Chitauri who were getting close to Mantis down to the ground. The sweet girl with the antenna was good at putting the creatures to sleep, but fighting was simply not her forte.

Rocket stood nearby firing his oversized gun and muttered, "I prefer the snow over the fires."

"Agreed," Quill said from where he stood at what used to be a bus stop. "And this is coming from a guy who hates the cold."

Thor swung his axe around, slicing through the creatures like they were made of butter. "I'm sure Loki knows how to reverse this, but we're all a little busy at the moment."

"Yeah, about that," Loki started to say, throwing two green shields up to prevent the Chitauri from reaching him. "I'm not quite sure how to fix this."

"I am positive you will be able to figure it out," Mantis said with a smile, before grabbing an Outrider by one of its four arms and causing it to crash to the ground in a sound sleep. Loki half smiled at the girl's positivity and then focused back on the battle. While it was important to concentrate on staying alive, the last few minutes were the first Loki had to reflect on what had happened during the last couple of hours.

To be honest, when Quill had told him that Bruce had told everyone his big secret, he felt like he had been slapped upside the face and all he could feel was a slight dread brewing inside him. If everyone knew, what would they say? Would they look at him differently? Like he was some weak, pathetic creature? And then Quill had made the mistake of asking him a question and trying to make light out of the serious moment. Loki had snapped, Quill snapped back, and Loki was then certain that his suspicions were right. That no one could understand what it had been like, that they would say they understood but they really couldn't. And they would judge him.

All of his paranoia and pessimism was quickly chased away by Quill actually acting like a smart man for once and then it was revealed about Quill's mother. What were the odds that two men could both be mind warped and break out of it only because of shattering revelations that had to do with their mothers? After learning about Quill's own connection with his mother and feeling like he and Quill could finally have some sort of common ground, some of the worry and fear of judgment disappeared.

And then who even had time to think?

The battle raged on and he practically forgot about what Quill had told him. Then it hit him. He could trust these crazy, selfless heroes. They were truly his friends. It was so obvious. He had known for a long time that their affections had been genuine, but now it felt real. It wasn't just a dream or a temporary thing. He, Loki, had real friends. And they thought of him as a friend too. He had used the Casket to disperse the fires and besides a little uneasiness at the start, he felt that he could show them his true form with no fear.

 _No fear? What a concept._

And if he could feel like he could show his friends his Jotun form, then why was he worrying about them knowing about Thanos? And besides Quill, no one had said anything and besides a few more concerned glances, everything seemed to be normal. No judging. No mocking. So again, he was happy to be proven wrong.

But despite all of this, there was an ever so small part of him that said maybe Quill had been lying. That there was no way that everyone could know and say anything about it. Clearly they were withholding their judgment from him. A thought like that was like cancer. It could spread and eat away at him. His thoughts and emotions had done it before.

He tried his best to ignore it. Because he knew this time that this would all work out in the end, for him and his friends. Just like Thor had said it would.

 _Loveable oaf was right the whole time._

Stark's voice came over the comms, pulling him from his thoughts. _"Hey, does anyone have a visual on Cap or Rhodey?"_

" _Not from where I'm at,"_ Agent Barton said.

" _Yeah,"_ Scott agreed, still the size of a skyscraper which was impressive to say the least. _"I don't see them either."_

Stark huffed, annoyed, _"Well, where the hell are they?"_

" _Have you tried calling them over the comms?"_ Peter asked.

" _Yeah, kid, about fifty times. I-"_ His voice was suddenly cut off by loud and fuzzy static.

" _Mr. Stark?"_ Peter said, a bit of worry creeping up into his voice. _"Hey, you there?"_ The boy's worry was justified. Stark was not a person to just stop talking.

"Tony?" Thor asked.

Nothing.

Then two seconds later Stark flew overhead, showing that he in fact was okay. His voice suddenly came back over the comms, midsentence. _"-it's not like Steve to just disappear."_

" _Tony,"_ Wanda started, _"I think your comm is cutting in and out."_

" _It's not just his. I keep hearing static and all you guys are cutting in and out,"_ Bucky said.

"Well, that ain't good," Quill said glancing around their small group. "How are we supposed to work together if we can't communicate to each other?"

The deafening silence that followed Quill's question just added to the maddening tension of the battle.

Loki and Thor shared a concerned glance. "Guys?" Thor asked.

"Anyone there?" Rocket asked, sounding no less concerned.

Stark flew nearby again. _"Yup, the static is going to be a problem. Okay, we need to meet up, all of us. Regroup, find Steve and Rhodey, and figure out a new plan."_

Sam nodded, "Roger that. Where?"

Stark flew out of sight and appeared to land about ten blocks away. Two seconds later from the same vicinity, a flair was shot up into the air and exploded into a yellow bright light. _"Head towards the light and you shall find salvation,"_ Stark quipped, despite the fact that he sounded almost grim.

Loki, Thor, Quill, Rocket, Sam, and Mantis all took off towards the direction of the flair. From where they were to where Stark was, it should have only taken about ten minutes to get there. It took a little longer than that because of, you guessed it, all of these damn Outriders and Chitauri.

When they at last made it to where Stark, who looked exhausted and had several small cuts on his face, stood next to a white building, they saw that Wanda and Groot were already there. Rocket, Quill, and Mantis reunited with their young tree friend and Loki nodded to Wanda. "Exciting, isn't it? All of this fighting."

She half smiled and threw her hair out of her face. "You and I have a very different definition of the word "exciting"."

" _Yeah, I'd say so,"_ Barton said.

Thor glanced around at the surrounding buildings. "Where is Barton?"

Stark pointed to the building that was about a block away, directly in front of them. Said building was interesting to say the least. Rocket said, "Ah…what is up with that building?" It was a ten story tan building with large glass windows that appeared like an old industrial building, which there was nothing odd about that, but that was not what Rocket was referring to. On top of the roof there was a Ferris wheel, a yellow school bus, a statue of a bug, and a bunch of other unusual stuff. And outside of the building was what appeared to be a large jungle gym made of giant coils and metal. So large in fact, that the coils and metal held up two old, discarded looking airplanes.

 _Very unusual._

"Look at the giant green bug!" Mantis exclaimed happily as she pointed to the statue on the roof. After further examination, the "giant green bug" statue that Mantis was so excited by was ironically a statue of a praying mantis.

"And is that a Ferris wheel on the roof?" Sam asked.

" _Yup, it is,"_ Barton said. _"There's a lot of other weird stuff up here too. But I'm pretty sure my kids would love it."_

Stark nodded, not sounding enthused as he explained, "That's the City Museum. Basically it's a big ten story playground."

Quill shook his head, almost disappointed. "They didn't have this when I was a kid. Have you ever noticed how they never have the fun stuff when you're a kid and only when you're an adult? And I'm not just talking about St. Louis, I'm talking everywhere. When I was a kid with Yondu you know what the Ravagers did for fun besides thieving? Tell old legends about some group called the Starjammers. I mean what kid wants to hear about-?"

Stark apparently had no more patience. "Can we focus, please?" he snapped.

Groot nodded his head and said a grouchy, "I am Groot."

Rocket smirked and said, "He agrees with ya."

Quill rose his hands in surrender and then he, along with everyone else, focused on the matter at hand. Wanda was the first one to turn to Stark and ask what was on everyone's minds. "I heard that Thanos was spotted. Whatever happened with that?"

Stark shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip. "I honestly have no clue. Steve, Rhodey, and T'Challa were the only ones free to deal with him and two out of the three are nonresponsive and we have no visual."

Thor, leaning against is axe, shook his head as well. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah," Stark said with a slight tired nod, "you're not the only one."

"Swinging in!" came a familiar voice. Three seconds later, Peter landed perfectly on his feet a mere four feet away from the group. The boy's metal Spider-Man suit was starting to look dull in certain areas because of ash and dirt. His mask went away, showing Peter Parker and the one glaring flaw to his usually bright, carefree blue eyes; the spark of intense fear. Fighting super villains as a super hero was one thing, but fighting in a kill or be killed battle in what was basically a war…

Yet another moment that just screamed that Peter was just a child who had no business being put in this terrible situation.

The next people to arrive was Strange and Bucky via one of Strange's portals. Bucky appeared tired but he had an air of determination around him. "Hey," Bucky greeted, though half-heartedly because it was clear that the metal-armed man had other things on his mind. He walked straight up to Stark. "So, no one's heard anything from Steve?"

Stark looked him straight in the eye and said miserably, "No…Dammit, where is he?" No one had an answer and that just added to the stress and tension of the situation.

Bucky however had a slightly knowing look to his gaze. He lifted his left hand, the metal hand, and patted Stark's shoulder, or rather, the red and yellow armor around his shoulder. Stark stared at him completely lost. Bucky shook his head. "Don't worry about Steve. The guy never knows when to quit. I bet he's just so caught up fighting the bad guys that he hasn't answered us. Same for your friend."

Stark looked like he wanted to say something but then he closed his mouth and nodded. He seemed somewhat comforted by what Bucky had said, but you still could tell that he was deeply bothered by the fact that the dear Captain and Rhodey were nonresponsive.

Strange stepped closer to Stark and said in a sympathetic but firm voice, "I know that you are concerned about your two friends Tony, but with all of us in one spot, we need to be aware of our surrounding. The creatures have orders to wreak havoc on the city but more importantly, to destroy us. We cannot allow ourselves to be ambushed."

" _He's right,"_ Barton said. _"It won't take them or Thanos long to figure out where we are."_

"Fine," Stark said with a nod. "We'll set up a perimeter."

"Right, I'm on it." Peter shot one of his webs and swung away.

"The pirate angel and I will help out," Quill said glancing up at Thor. Said man nodded in agreement and together they left the group.

Wanda motioned to Loki, Strange, and herself. "We'll help too."

Loki was perfectly fine with helping with setting up a perimeter but the second he nodded and took a step to follow those who had already left, Strange shook his head and held out his hand to stop him. "Wanda and I will help. You can stay here." Without further explanation and without waiting for anyone to say anything on the matter, Strange turned on his heels and left. Wanda hesitated for a second but then followed the cloaked sorcerer.

Approximately two seconds after Wanda and Strange left, Hope arrived, regular sized. She, apparently having heard what Strange had said, glanced at Loki and said, "Surprised you didn't say anything about Strange acting odd again."

Actually Loki was a bit surprised about that as well. But truth be told… He sighed, "At this point, I am frankly over the Doctor and his secretive nature."

Bucky nodded in agreement and then focused on Stark again. "What's the plan then?"

Stark closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and shook his head. "Still working on that part."

"Where's the rest of the team?" Hope asked. There was about five people missing still, one of which was Nebula. It was peculiar. He hadn't heard from her since they parted ways after he had first used the Casket.

"On their way," Scott said from a few feet away, running up to the group as well. At some point he had shrunk back down to his regular size too. "I saw them when I was really big."

Loki let out a small sigh of relief. Nebula should be on her way then.

"Brainstorming is more than welcomed," Stark said as he paced on the sidewalk alongside the white building they stood next to.

Sam nodded to Scott. "Any ideas, Tic-Tac?"

Scott paused and glanced upwards, thinking. He gave up after a few seconds and sighed, "Yeah, but they all involve growing huge and honestly I think I'm running low on Pym Particles."

"Oh!" Mantis exclaimed, causing everyone to start. "Did you tell them our freezing Thanos idea?"

Loki sighed, "No, and I don't think-"

"Freezing Thanos idea?" Bucky asked with a funny look on his face.

"Yeah," Sam said, suddenly cheery. He clapped Loki on the back and Loki just had to half glare at him.

 _Sam's a nice guy but I really wish he would stop doing that._

Sam continued on without noticing the trickster's piercing gaze. "When Loki went to the stadium he didn't just freeze the fires, he froze Thane. And we were thinking maybe if he froze Thanos-"

Stark interrupted him. "It's too risky."

Both Loki and Sam stared at Stark in shock and they both said at the same time, "What?"

"It's too risky," Stark repeated.

"I was unaware that something could be _too risky_ for the great Tony Stark," Loki said in a bit of a tone.

"I know you're being sarcastic, but I don't appreciate the sass," Stark said in an equal tone.

Rocket rubbed his forehead and mumbled, "I think you're both pretty sassy. Also, Stark, I thought you were the guy who came up with the crazy and risky plans."

"And had no problem ignoring all the risks for the sake of success," Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly!" Scott said, happy to contribute to the discussion. "I mean, you created that killer robot in an attempt to save the world and clearly you didn't think about the risks then." Stark slowly turned to Scott and glared the man down. Scott flinched and took a step backwards, away from Stark's unnerving glare. "Still a sore spot to talk about?" Stark nodded his head as if it was obvious. Scott glanced down at the ground, embarrassed. "I'll shut up."

Rocket mused, "And the world takes a collective sigh of relief."

"I am Groot," Groot said in a jokingly tone.

Rocket laughed and eyed Scott. "He _is_ like an excitable puppy."

Scott, to absolutely no one's surprise, looked confused. Stark waved his hand and got them back on track. "Look, I have no problem with the idea of freezing Thanos into a block of ice. I just…" He trailed off and let out a deep breath. He looked up at Loki and said, "I can't possibly ask you to do this after all of your history with the guy."

Loki was almost taken aback by Stark's concern for him. Not just genuine concern, but _deep_ genuine concern. And what Stark had said. _"All of your history with the guy."_ It wasn't some ploy or lie. They all truly knew what happened then? Loki glanced away from Stark's gaze and slightly nodded his head. "So, what Quill said was true then."

"Quill says a lotta things," Rocket muttered, as he was reloading his giant gun. "You gotta be more specific."

"Bruce told all of you."

After he uttered those five simple words, he could feel a shift in the air around their group of nine. He glanced around at the people so close to him. Mantis and Groot looked quizzically at him and the others because they, having gone after Loki, had no idea what he was talking about. Bucky started rubbing the back of his neck as if he didn't know what else to do. Rocket tried about three times to say something but eventually gave up and just stared down at his gun. Hope and Scott shared a glance. Sam, who was the closest to Loki, looked surprise. Like he had not expected this to come up right now. And dealing with such surprises were apparently not his strongest suit. So he spurted out, "Q-quill told you that Bruce told us-us about…?" Loki just nodded. And Stark…well, his deep genuine concern gaze was dialed up to about an eleven.

Bucky, still rubbing the back of his neck, muttered, "Why'd, um, Quill tell you?"

Loki shook his head. "It's not important."

Stark suddenly started pacing again, clearly trying to articulate the best thing to say. When he apparently came up with it, he halted dead in his tracks and looked the trickster god right in the eye. "Look, Loki, none of us had any idea that you were," Stark paused once again, trying to choose his words carefully, "not in control of your actions. If we had, we would have-"

"You would have done what?" Loki asked, almost challengingly.

Stark opened his mouth but then shut it and shrugged. The man almost looked like he was at a loss for words. A scary sight indeed. "I don't know. But things would've gone differently."

There was no point in getting sucked up into the "what ifs". No one could change the past. They could not go back, they could only move forward. Loki shook his head and glanced away from Stark's gaze again. "Don't worry about it."

Stark suddenly got very passionate. "No, but you see-" Just as quickly as he started talking he stopped. He took another breath and tried again more calmly this time. "We had all agreed that if the time came we'd all apologize for not injecting when Clint started chewing you out."

It would seem that Nebula had been right in saying that the Avengers and Guardians were feeling guilty for not standing up for him. It had seemed ridiculous at the time-stars, that was only a little less than a day ago. How things had changed since then. Loki half-heartedly shrugged. "Agent Barton had every right to be angry."

"Maybe," Stark agreed, but his eyes said differently. "But not to that extent. And we had no right to just stand there when truth be told, we would not be this far without you." Stark glanced around at the quiet people around them and asked them, "What was it T'Challa said? That we all needed to tell Reindeer Games here that we thought highly of him?"

 _Wait, what…?_

Scott's eyes lit up. "Yeah. I remember because I agreed whole heartedly with him."

Stark half smiled and turned back to Loki. "We think highly of you Loki."

Loki was just speechless for nearly two minutes. Sam nudged him on the shoulder after he still hadn't said a word. "You good, man?"

Loki nodded and slowly said, "Yeah." Just as it had been when Thor had told him that he had always thought of him as more than his equal, Loki was bombarded with this warm feeling of relief and the feeling of belonging somewhere. There was nothing worse than meandering around life feeling as if you do not belong. He never belonged on Asgard. Not really. But here on Midgard, Earth, he had found so much. Things he never thought he could find. And just like when Thor told him the truth of how he felt, Loki had this sense that he would look back on this moment and realize that it was one of many stepping stones to moving on and leaving behind all of the self-hating tendencies that had haunted him for thirteen hundred plus years.

"Are you sure? 'Cause you seem a bit pale," Scott said, to which Hope gave him a look that screamed, he's always pale genius. "Paler than usual," Scott said in a feeble save. Rocket and Groot just shook their heads.

And Loki, well he chuckled. He truly did care for these idiots. He'd do anything for them. The group seemed slightly surprised by his sudden chuckle. He rubbed his head feeling some of the tension just melt away. "I'm okay. I'm just…accepting it."

"Accepting what?" Mantis asked in her soft voice.

" _Acceptance_." And that said acceptance was real and true and nobody was going to ever take that away from him. It gave him this oddly joyful feeling, odd given the circumstance of being in a metropolitan city fighting beastly aliens. With his newfound contentment, he brought the conversation back to what had caused this in the first place. "I don't like the idea of freezing Thanos because it is just a terrible plan, however, if worse comes to worse, I can do it. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Really?" Hope said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, obviously not," Loki half chuckled, "but, I'm getting there. Slowly."

" _I hate to interrupt this lovely display of sentiment,"_ said a familiar voice that caused everyone to freeze, _"but we have a situation."_

At the sound of the young Wakandan King's voice, everyone was snapped back to reality. The sentiment could wait till later. "T'Challa?" Bucky asked, glancing around the streets searching for the man.

The group of nine followed Bucky's example. "Where you at?" Sam asked.

" _I see him!"_ Peter exclaimed. _"He and Drax are coming your guy's way."_

" _Yeah, I see them too,"_ Barton said and then added, _"Also that green lady and Thor's new girlfriend are coming from a different direction."_

" _Valkyrie is not my girlfriend,"_ Thor said, almost annoyed.

" _Sure,"_ Barton said not buying it. Loki had to wonder if the comms had gone out momentarily because everyone who had left to set up the perimeter had not said a word about him stating that he knew that they knew. And given the almost banter like tone they spoke with just proved this thought. Not that it mattered when they had other things to worry about. Such as… Barton suddenly asked, _"Wait, where's Nat?"_

"Hold on," Stark said, shaking his hands. "T'Challa said there was a situation. What situation?"

"I guess you can ask him yourself," Hope said pointing into the distance.

About twenty feet away, T'Challa slowly came around the corner of a gray building supporting Drax, who from the looks of it was pretty banged up. His right arm appeared to be just hanging from the socket, limp and shattered and there were multiple cuts along his chest and stomach, ranging from small harmless ones to currently bleeding scary ones. The group ran towards the two men almost immediately.

Rocket, Groot, and Mantis ran up to their fellow Guardian, still being supported by T'Challa. "Drax!" Mantis cried, fearful of seeing her friend in this state. "Are you alright?"

The obnoxiously literal man had a glassy shine to his eyes. "I am not sure…I would not say no to a nap."

"Yeah, like we got time for that," Sam muttered.

T'Challa, with the help of Mantis and Groot, set Drax down to the pavement and leaned him against the gray building. While Mantis held Drax's hand comfortingly and the raccoon and the tree hung close nearby, T'Challa stood up and faced the others. His mask receded back. He was certainly a sight to behold as well. He had a broken lip, a glob of wet blood on his left temple that dripped down his jawline, and gray ashes covered about half of his face.

"Tony…" he started before he trailed off and looked about ready to pass out. And then he basically did. It was like it was happening in slow motion, the poor man was falling forward with a pain filled expression. Practically everyone jumped to try and catch him, but it was Stark who did the blunt of the work.

"Easy," he said in an attempted soothing voice. "Easy…someone help." Loki, Sam, and Scott were closest and helped Stark get T'Challa set down next to Drax.

Scott wiped his forehead, tired. "Man, this isn't good."

"No, it isn't," Loki said agreeing with something that the man had said for once. He eyed the two nearly broken men and knew what he needed to do. Thankfully, he was sure he had enough strength. He knelt down to T'Challa and Drax's level. "Well, I'm not going to be of much help for the rest of the battle, but that's okay." He closed his eyes in concentration, lifted both of his hands out, and with a flash of green the two men's serious injuries were healed.

T'Challa almost instantly woke up, alert and felt for his head injury. He seemed surprised that it was gone. Drax sat up straighter and rotated his once dislocated and broken arm and let out a giddy laugh. He then checked his chest and found that most of his cuts were gone too. Loki half smiled, glad he could help, but he could also feel some of his energy drain away. And strangely enough, even though he had used a lot of his magic to heal their wounds, he didn't feel hardly as drained as he sometimes did when using his magic to this extent.

 _Curious._

He stood up, apparently too fast because he suddenly felt lightheaded and found himself almost falling over.

 _Never mind. Spoke too soon about not feeling drained._

He felt Bucky's strong metal and flesh hands grab him and get him upright. "Careful."

Groot said quietly, "I am Groot."

"I know," Rocket said shaking his head. "First these two," he motioned to Drax and T'Challa, "now this guy's fallin' over."

"I'm fine," Loki insisted and he brushed Bucky's hands away.

T'Challa silently nodded his thanks to Loki. Drax on the other hand… "Awesome!" Drax jumped to his feet and had a new spring to his step. "I feel like I could take on a hundred of these alien monstrosities!"

Tony half smiled as he turned to Loki. "You got strength enough to give us all an energy boost?" Loki just stared at him and didn't merit him a response. "Right, dumb question."

Despite his wounds being healed, T'Challa stayed sitting on the cement. He looked up at Stark with an almost powerless gleam to his eye. "Tony," he said softly again, "Thanos…he has Captain Rogers and Colonel Rhodes."

Everyone froze and stared down at the young king, except for Drax who suddenly appeared solemn.

Bucky, whose eyes suddenly shined with a frightened look, said, "W-what?"

T'Challa spoke louder and clearer. "He took them."

This was not good.

 _Understatement!_

This was bloody horrible.

Stark shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, looking fearful but at the same time unsurprised. Like all of his worst fears were coming true but he had prepared himself for the moment so he wasn't completely blindsided. "How did it happen?" he asked quietly.

Drax was the first to answer. "We were fighting the Titan fiend, but he was too swift and powerful. He knocked down the silver robot man, my cat friend here, and myself. When I came to, the silver robot man and the man who is as manly as the pirate angel were gone."

"It wasn't just them," a voice called behind them. When the group turned they saw Valkyrie walking towards them with her arm wrapped around Gamora. Besides a few minor cuts and bruises, the two fierce women looked to be in pretty good shape. That is, if you ignored Valkyrie's remorseful look and the fact that Gamora appeared almost traumatized.

Hope ran to them and helped Valkyrie get Gamora to the group. "Here." When they got her to the group they set her down next to T'Challa. The second they did, Gamora curled her legs up to her chest and hugged them there. Hope asked Valkyrie, "Is she okay?"

"She's not seriously injured if that's what you mean…" Clearly that was not what Hope meant. It was unlike Gamora to retreat into herself like this, given the Guardians worried expressions. And it gave Loki a sinking feeling. What was it Valkyrie had said before coming onto the scene? It wasn't just them? Them, meaning the dear Captain and Rhodey? Valkyrie crossed her arms, not defiantly like she normally did, and said quickly, "That Super Giant bitch took that female agent, Natasha."

" _What?"_ Barton cried out in horror.

"It gets worse," Valkyrie said.

"What could possibly be worse?" Scott asked throwing his hands in the air.

Valkyrie kicked at some of the debris scattered over the road and chewed on the inside of her mouth. "You may regret asking that. We all knew about Quill's grandfather getting kidnapped, but there were more…" She took a breath and shook her head. She clearly did not want to be the bringer of bad news and wanted to get through this as quickly as possible. "They took Natasha, Banner, Stark's girlfriend-"

Stark's mouth dropped open. "Wait-Pepper? They have-Thanos has Pepper?"

"Yeah." Stark hadn't been anticipating that. "He also has that girl genius Shuri, Thor's ex's friend, the Spider-Boy's chubby friend-"

" _Ned!"_ Peter shouted. _"No, no, no. I can't lose him too. I just can't."_ The boy sounded like he was on the verge of tears. If listening to that sweet boy sound so distraught wasn't just like a kick to the teeth then Loki didn't know what was. Then again, Valkyrie was not finished yet.

She sighed after being interrupted again and continued half-heartedly. "Strange's girlfriend, Barton's…wife, Rhodes, Captain America…" she trailed off.

Everyone who was around Valkyrie stared at her with wide shocked eyes and Loki could only image those who were setting up the perimeter, pausing and looking just as hopeless as the situation had turned. Some of those who they had tried so hard to protect were now in the hands of Thanos anyway.

Bucky, T'Challa, and Stark seemed to be the worst. Then again, Valkyrie's news was overwhelming to hear. Bucky didn't move, didn't say a word as he tried to process this. T'Challa just stared at the ground, worrying about his little sister. And Stark…he started pacing around, lost in his thoughts.

Loki was lost in his own thoughts too. Thanos was going to kill them, he just knew it. And though he was concerned about all of them, he felt dread the most when he heard about Bruce. Shuri, the dear girl, and Ned were only children and it made him hate Thanos even more than before for involving _children_. Natasha, who had saved his life, Steve, and Rhodey were part of this group and he didn't want anything to happen to them. And the others, well he might not have known some of them that well or at all in the case of Quill's grandfather, but he would never wish anyone to have to be at the mercy at Thanos's hands, having been there himself. But Bruce…?

The amusing, sometimes jittery scientist had essentially been Loki's first friend. Yes, there was Nebula, there had always been Nebula, but he had spent his time on Thanos's ship and the time after believing that they had not been friends. He probably would still believe it had she not told him that he was her first friend. With Bruce, from the moment they had reached the Avengers compound till now, there had been no question. And Loki had gotten used to having Bruce always being there. To have him be killed…it was unthinkable.

No one said a word until Barton asked Valkyrie, _"How do you know this?"_

Valkyrie muttered, "Because Super Giant told us when we were fighting her."

" _So this could all be a ploy? You don't know if it's all real, what she said. Maybe she doesn't have…"_ Barton was desperately trying to convince himself that there was no possible way that the Titan monster had his dear wife or his best friend.

Valkyrie shook her head, though Barton probably couldn't see her from where he was at. "No. She was gloating. Holding it over us that we left them without significant protection." Barton then became eerily quiet. So had the rest of the group, lost in their worrisome and bleak thoughts of what would happen to their friends and loved ones.

And then Loki realized something. It clicked together in his mind. And it scared him.

He turned to Valkyrie. "Where's Nebula?" The woman who never stopped talking didn't say a word, she just stared at him with a sad and sympathetic gaze. Loki's concern and need to know only increased. "Brunnhilde, where is Nebula?" It was the first time he had ever said Valkyrie's real name without a teasing tone to it.

"She was taken too." It wasn't Valkyrie who spoke though. It was Gamora. The green woman glanced up and met Loki's stunned gaze. She looked as fearful and terrible as he felt.

 _No, no, no._

Not Nebula.

The dread and panic he felt for Bruce and the others just intensified at the thought of Nebula being stuck in the same situation.

This couldn't be real, but dammit, it was.

Loki found himself stepping away from the group in an almost dreamlike state. There was a part of him that screamed that he needed to pull himself together because feeling bad about this mess wasn't going to help anyone.

But for a few minutes all he could do was dwell.

Dwell on the fact that dear Nebula who had spent most of her life being torn apart by the cruel hands of Thanos was now in his clutches again. The fear and panic started to melt together and all Loki could feel was a building rage. He clenched his fists and oddly enough he could feel some of his magic threatening to swirl around him and destroy the street like how he had destroyed his cell and that room in Wakanda. Odd because he should have been drained of most of his magic. But there was no time to think about this, not when he had to come up with a way to fix this. Because there was no way in hell that he was going to let Nebula just die.

"All those people," Mantis whispered, miserably after a while. "How many is that?"

" _Twelve,"_ Quill muttered.

Hope's eyes shined with realization. "Three more and that's the fifteen souls."

Almost at once, the group of superheroes started chattering at the same time:

" _There has got to be something, anything that we can do!"_

"How do we-what should we-?"

"I am Groot!"

" _We have to get the gems and save them, that's all we can do."_

"How in God's name do we fix this?"

"Guys!" Stark shouted after he had had enough of this. His voice had an authoritative tone laced through it. "I get your feeling of dread, I do. I've been feeling it ever since New York, but we cannot let ourselves become unhinged. Steve said it best when he told us that the only way we win this, is by doing it together. So that's what we do. We stick together and we figure this out."

" _How?"_ Peter asked, fully invested in what his mentor slash father figure was saying.

T'Challa stood to his feet, with a new determined look in his eye. "As Captain Rogers also said, we'll do whatever it takes."

" _I think I see him."_ Barton's voice was filled with raw type of rage that was scary to say the least. And of course, no one had to ask who "him" was. _"Coming up the street a little north of the City Museum. Murderous, purple bastard."_

Before anyone could say another word, Loki spoke up because he knew what needed to be done. "I'll freeze him."

"What?" Hope asked.

Loki took a deep breath and kept the anger close by because it was the only thing preventing him from getting sucked up in the dread and pessimism. He glanced between his friends as he said, "You all distract him and when the opportunity comes, I'll freeze him. Then you steal back the stones."

Thor's worried voice started to say, _"Brother, are you sure-"_

Loki was in no mood to have a twenty minute argument about this. "I'm doing it and that's the end of that discussion!" A few people standing around him started at his sudden shouting.

Stark stayed still though and nodded in agreement. "You heard the man."

" _Yeah, um,"_ Quill started, _"this is great and all but from where I'm standin' we still don't have a real plan."_

This was true.

They couldn't win this one because of the strength of their bonds with each other or their determination to see Thanos burn alone. They needed a plan. A well thought out one at that. When no one said a word for about thirty seconds, Dr. Strange, who had been silent this entire time, quietly said, _"I have a plan."_

…

" _This harebrained scheme of Strange's better work,"_ Rocket muttered to himself, sounding annoyed.

" _It will work,"_ Stark reassured from where he was at. _"Everyone just remember your positions and your roles."_

" _Yeah, can I just say one more time that I'm not a hundred percent sure that I like the idea of basically being bait,"_ Quill said.

" _You're not bait Peter,"_ Gamora snapped. _"You're one of the first people to take on Thanos when he gets here."_

"… _So, bait?"_

Gamora huffed, _"Shut up."_

The team had split up into smaller groups and hid behind the different buildings along the street leading up to the City Museum. Strange's plan, if you could call it that, was to slowly overwhelm the Titan until he was distracted and then Loki could freeze him. A few people had asked why not have everyone just jump Thanos at once, but Strange was adamant that they do it in sections. Nobody had the time nor the energy to ask why so they went along with his plan.

Loki stayed by the white building, where they had all regrouped, waiting. That's what they all were doing.

Just waiting.

And then Loki glanced down the street to his left and could see the giant man slowly coming into view. He felt his hands start to tremble but he quickly balled them both into fists again.

 _Now is not the time to fall apart…focus on your rage._

He glared at Thanos and could see even from the distance of fifty feet that the Titan looked smug. He hated that smug look. He hated how calm and reserved Thanos always appeared to be. He just hated him with every fiber of his being.

Thanos also appeared to be slightly weary.

 _Good._

Not necessarily from the battle, he had been through, started, and finished thousands of battles, but it might have been from using the Gauntlet. Said Gauntlet was still burnt and broken and it was only now did Loki realize that the gold metal was infused to Thanos's hand. And Thanos's arm…it looked as burnt and mangled as the Gauntlet. The burn marks went up his arm to his shoulder and slightly up his neck. What was said was true; only a being of extraordinary strength could wield the power of the six Infinity Stones, but not without a cost.

" _When do we start?"_ Sam whispered, sounding eager to enact their plan.

Stark hesitated for three seconds, allowing Thanos to get closer. And then… _"Now."_

Sam, Bucky, Quill, and Drax came charging from their hiding spot and ran towards Thanos head on. They all had their weapons at the ready and no sooner did Thanos see them, did Rocket, T'Challa, and Groot come charging up from behind. They barely had a chance to reach him, barely had a chance to fire a gun or throw a punch before Thanos clenched his fist with a wince and the Reality Stone shined bright. The seven heroes were suddenly glowing red like the stone. And then all of them halted in place. They all tried to move but none of them could. Rocket sighed, "Crap…"

Thanos slightly chuckled and continued walking down the street, leaving them behind.

Quill angrily muttered, "See, nothing good comes from being bait!"

" _Oh, shut up!"_ Stark snapped. _"Wasp and backup, you're up."_

Hope flew in as the size of an insect. She flew close to Thanos's face, a gutsy move to be sure. She suddenly grew back to her normal size in the middle of a backflip, so she kicked Thanos under the chin. Thanos grunted and rubbed his chin while glaring at Hope in surprise.

"That's for my parents," Hope said defiantly, before shrinking back down. She flew furiously around Thanos's head, making him more and more agitated by the second. He moved to swat at her but before he could, Valkyrie sprinted up behind him, jumped through the air, and grabbed onto his back. Two seconds later, she had the Titan in a choke hold. And before Thanos could potentially throw Valkyrie off of him, the specular Spider-Man swung in from his spot on one of the nearby buildings. He landed four feet away from Thanos and started shooting his electrified webs at him.

"And that's for my Aunt!" Peter shouted, not letting up on the stream of webs.

Hope grew back to her normal size, stood next to the boy, and started firing her blasters. Thanos winced in minor pain from all of the blasts and Taser webs. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. The Time Stone twinkled to life and as he opened his fist, green rings wrapped around his wrist and a green disk appeared in front of his open hand.

 _Oh, stars._

Thanos rotated his hand to the left and suddenly Peter, Hope, and Valkyrie were going in reverse. As far as Loki could tell, those three were the only ones affected by the spell. Peter swung away from the Titan backwards, Hope was back to the size of a bug, and Valkyrie was no longer holding Thanos in a choke hold and was now sprinting away from him in reverse. Then Thanos clenched his fist and time began to work normally again. But for those three, they didn't know what had happened. They were back to where they had been after all, so they went to do their part of the plan. _"Wait!"_ Stark shouted, but it was too late.

Hope flew up to Thanos small and grew to her normal size in the middle of a backflip but this time, Thanos caught her leg before she could kick him. He hurled her through the wall of gray building. Next he turned around to catch Valkyrie by the neck and threw her about twenty feet away from him. She landed on and broke some of the cement road. She didn't get up right away. Then he turned back and clenched his fist. The Power Stone lit up and the web that Peter was swinging on was suddenly vaporized in a flash of purple. "Whoa!" Peter cried in surprise as he fell closer to the ground. And when he was close enough, Thanos punched him in the stomach and sent him flying backwards. Loki flinched at the sound of Thanos's fist making contact with Peter and he had to repress the urge to run over to where the boy had landed about thirty feet away. He knew he needed to stay out of sight. Peter slowly got to his hands and knees. "Mr. Stark that really hurt."

" _Kid, stay down. You might have a broken bone or something."_ You could tell that Stark was also repressing the urge to fly over and check on the boy.

"No, I heal very fast and the purple grape is still up and-"

" _You did your part, kid, now stay down!"_ Peter didn't need to be told again. He flopped onto his back and stayed down. Good, that was one less thing to worry. _"Point Break, light the bastard up."_

Loki couldn't help but tense up at the mention of Thor's nickname. Thor could hold his own against Thanos with little to no problem, but that didn't mean that Loki wasn't going to worry about him. Thor came flying in and hurled his axe at Thanos who easily dodged it. Almost too easily.

Thanos stood to his full height and looked down at Thor in disapproval. "You only come with one trick, hmm?"

Thor clenched his fists, bits of lightning dancing from his hands. "I will kill you yet."

"You already failed once."

With those words, the dark thunder clouds began to roll in, clashing with the gray snow clouds. Thor was clearly determined to prove the Titan wrong. He hit Thanos directly in the chest with a blinding lightning blast. Thanos was thrown backwards and landed with a loud crash. He groaned as he got back to his feet. Thor was already running towards him, the lightning crackling around him as he summoned his axe back to him. Thanos scowled and with a grimace, all six stones lit up and he hit the God of Thunder with a rainbow blast. The power of the blast sent Thor crashing through one of the buildings to the right.

In that moment more than before, Loki wanted to intervene. He felt himself start to step forward, but then Stark's voice along with some static came over the comm in his ear. _"Loki, do not move. You gotta stay close by for when we're ready for you. We'll check on Thor later."_

Loki sighed, irritated. He hated just standing here, feeling like he was completely useless. "Fine."

" _Good. Now-"_

"You don't have to tell me." Gamora stepped out from behind the building she had been hiding behind, her sword un-sheaved, her glare unsettling. "Thanos," she called out to her step-father.

Thanos was a bit out of breath from being hit by Thor's massive bolt and from using the power of all six stones, but when he saw the fierce green woman he froze. Thanos the mad Titan actually froze in shock. Stars, Loki wished he had a camera. "Daughter," Thanos said, in a tone that was a mixture of a surprise, sadness, and happiness. "I am overjoyed to see you."

Gamora raised an eyebrow at him as she stalked closer to him. "Really?"

Thanos then had an emotion flash across his features that Loki never thought the monster was capable of: regret. "Little one-"

"Because the last time I saw you, you threw me off a cliff!" When Gamora was only about three feet away from him, she started encircling him causing him to turn in the opposite direction of what he had been heading towards.

"I only did what had to be done… I am sorry."

"And Nebula? You had to take her, you just had to?"

"I-" Barton on top of the City Museum shot an arrow at Thanos. It sliced through the air but Thanos spun around and caught it before it could hit him. He looked back to Gamora, again, shocked. "You tried to distract me?"

Gamora tilted her head back and glared at him with pure hatred. "No, I just made you look. Lang, now!" As she ran for cover, Scott, who had been on the tip of the arrow, suddenly grew to be about sixty-five feet tall. Thanos jumped backwards and looked up at the Giant-Man completely stunned.

Scott looked down at the Titan and mused, "Not so big now, are you?" Then to prove his point, he just barely tapped Thanos with his foot and he pushed him to the ground.

Loki had to smirk at the image of Scott Lang of all people being able to hold his own against Thanos. And the fact that Scott literally kicked him down…seriously, why didn't he have a bloody camera?

Scott picked up an abandoned car and threw it at Thanos. It made a direct hit! It wasn't long though and a purple surge destroyed the car completely. Thanos wiped the little trickle of blood from his chin and glared at Giant-Man. "Is that all?"

Scott stepped closer. "Oh, no. That's not all." He went to kick Thanos down again but this time, the Mad Titan was prepared. With a knowing and smug look, Thanos clenched his fist and the Mind Stone came to life. Scott started to scream and hold his head as he staggered backwards. Not any old scream, a bloodcurdling scream.

Loki felt a chill run through him as he watched Scott in horror. He remembered what it had been like. Nothing but blinding pain and never ending memories.

Scott, in the midst of his screaming, pressed the button on his glove and shrank back down to normal size, falling to his knees. Only then did Thanos unclench his fist releasing his hold on the poor man. Scott stayed quiet and still.

Thanos continued down the street but was quickly stopped by Gamora who came charging at him. She continuously swung her sword trying to hit him but he dodged each attempt. "Stark!" she called. Thanos tossed her away from him, looking regretful as he did so.

" _On our way."_ Stark and Strange flew in side-by-side and when they were both in range they hit Thanos, Stark with his repulsor beam and Strange with an orange shield. Thanos moved to retaliate but before he could a red energy surrounded his left arm and pulled down. He strained to break free from the energy but he couldn't. It surrounded all of him. Wanda stood behind him moving her arms around making wild hand gestures, but it was working. She was pulling him down to his knees with her powers. Mantis was next to the Scarlet Witch and once Thanos was subdued enough, she timidly ran up to the Titan. She touched his right hand and her antenna started to glow. She grunted as she tried to keep him down. Thanos tried fighting back and was struggling hard against Wanda and Mantis's control.

It wouldn't be long till he broke free.

"Loki," Stark said as he flew up so he could hit Thanos with another repulsor beam. "You're up."

Yes.

Yes, he was.

With a deep breath, Loki left the safety of his hiding spot to walk onto the street. Once he reached Thanos and the four remaining heroes who were still in the fight, he eyed his captor, his torturer. Stark landed next to Mantis and while she used her empathetic abilities to keep Thanos from moving too much, Stark took hold of his arm and kept it steady. "Whenever you're ready, Lokes."

 _Lokes? Is that my new nickname now? Well, anything is better than Reindeer Games._

"Don't let me hit you," he said and with a wave of his hands, he conjured up the Casket. Like with the fires, all he really could do was hold onto the relic and direct the continuous stream of ancient winters at Thanos. The instant the ice made contact with Thanos it began to spread, freezing over him like a light layer of frost. Thanos struggled more against his restraints. Loki stepped closer and within a few seconds, the mad Titan was frozen in thick ice. All of him except for his right arm because Mantis and Stark were still holding onto it.

 _Bloody hell…it actually worked._

Nobody let up on what they were doing to keep Thanos down. Not Loki, not Wanda, not Mantis, and certainly not Stark. They were not taking any chances today. Upon seeing Thanos incased in ice and immobile, Peter happily called out, "Alright! It's working!" He was still lying on the ground, perched up on his elbow to see the spectacle that was Loki freezing Thanos.

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed from where he was still stuck to the concrete road with the other six.

"Yeah!" Rocket said, excitably. "That's a great idea."

"What's a great idea?" Bucky asked.

Rocket chuckled, "He said Loki should join the freakin' Guardians of the Galaxy, only he didn't use freakin'."

Loki glanced at the Groot and Rocket, who were up ahead in the street, still surrounded by the red light keeping them in their spot, and had to wonder if he had heard them correctly. Him a part of the Guardians? Well, they were in desperate need of leadership. But seriously, it made him smile a little to know that they wanted him on their team. They really did accept him, didn't they?

"I'd be okay with that," Quill said. "An honorary Guardian though. Can someone make it so we can move now?"

"Later," Stark muttered as he struggled to continue to hold Thanos's arm. "Loki keep up the good work. Strange-"

"Already on it." Strange flew up so that he was at the level of the Gauntlet. His big cloak was blowing in the breeze as orange sparks materialized around his fingers. He touched the frozen Gauntlet and the sparks started to melt through the ice. Strange was in a deep concentration, the type of concentration that is familiar to those who performed surgeries. It was clear that he had been a doctor at one point. After a minute had passed, he had melted through the layers of ice enough to pull one of the stones from its spot. The first stone he went after had been the Mind Stone. Once he had freed it, he tossed it down to Stark, who caught it easily. Stark's eyes had a gleam of newfound confidence as he glanced over the yellow glowing stone.

Strange started working on getting the next stone, the Time Stone, and once he got it in his clutches he made it vanish with a wave of his hand.

Two down, four to go.

But this was going far too smoothly to last…

Just as Strange was attempting to melt through the ice to obtain the Reality Stone, Thanos clenched his fist, breaking through the ice around the Gauntlet. The Power Stone lit up and most of the snow and ice around him began to crack and dissolve.

 _No…_

Thanos swung both his arms, throwing Stark, Strange and Mantis away from him. Mantis landed on Wanda, knocking her down and breaking her control on her red energy. Stark crashed into Loki and they both landed to the ground hard. Strange was saved by his obnoxious cloak which caught him before crashing to the ground.

Thanos was on his knees breathing heavily. With his concentration elsewhere, his hold on Sam, Bucky, Rocket, T'Challa, Quill, Groot, and Drax finally broke and they were finally able to move again. Thanos must have realized his mistake because he turned to them and sent a purple surge their way that knocked them all down to the ground. The only one to quickly get back to his feet and ready his oversized gun to fight the Titan was Rocket. He ran for Thanos with no concern for his safety and it was probably this over eagerness that caused him to jump for him.

Thanos caught him by the throat. "Rodent," he hissed.

And bless Rocket Raccoon, because he didn't even hesitate in greeting Thanos by saying, "Ass hat." Thanos scowled and hurled him to the ground. Rocket barely moved after that and Thanos took advantage of this by forming a blue portal that engulfed him.

 _Oh, no._

"I am Groot!" the poor tree cried, sounding horrified.

"You bring him back right now!" Quill shouted.

Thanos smiled, showing his teeth. He lifted his fist into the air, the four remaining Infinity Stones were aglow, and with all his might he punched the ground. A shockwave of sorts shot out, crashing into the superheroes, throwing them through walls or slamming them to the concrete road.

Loki was then vaguely aware of the fact that he was being thrown backwards too; it all happened in a matter of seconds, it almost didn't feel real. It felt more like a bad dream.

And then he was crashing through a building.

He landed to the floor with a loud, painful smack.

The back of his head felt like it had been caved in and then everything was going black…

Loki wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious. All he knew was that his head hurt yet again and that he was vaguely aware of Thor's voice.

"Loki? Brother? Come on, wake up." Strong hands were softly shaking him by his shoulders. Loki wanted it to stop so he tried to bat the hands away. They stayed put and Thor's voice seemed to grow louder and happier. "That's it! Wake up."

Loki slightly opened his eyes and realized that he was lying flat on his back with Thor sitting next to him. "Thor?"

"Yeah, it's me." Loki suddenly remembered the battle and the threat of Thanos and quickly tried to look around and even sit up. Thor's hands on his shoulders kept him down. "Hey, calm down. It's alright. We're safe here." Loki let out a deep relieved breath. If Thor said it was safe, then it had to be. He slowly took in his surroundings. It looked like they were in some sort of oddly decorative lobby. "We're in that City Museum," Thor explained. "After Thanos knocked everyone down, there were a few people left still standing. He went to fight with them and I went looking for you when you didn't answer over the comms."

Loki sighed. Only Thor would leave the most important battle of their lives to find him. He glanced to his left when something caught his eye, it was the Casket. Good, he hadn't lost it. Then he quietly asked, "Did we get anymore stones?"

"To my knowledge, just the Mind and Time Stones."

Loki closed his eyes and went to rub his forehead, "Damn."

Thor went to grab him by the wrists to pull him up. "Hey, it's okay-ahh!" Thor suddenly dropped him and grasped his right hand in clear pain.

Loki was startled and rightfully so. He tried to get himself sat up. "Thor? What-?" He froze when he saw Thor's right hand. He saw that his palm was not the normal flesh color but a burnt blue black color. Loki glanced down to his hands and saw that they were just now finishing changing from Jotun blue to his pale complexion.

Thor quickly said, "Loki, you didn't mean to-"

No. He didn't mean to. But he had and the guilt hit him hard. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I-"

Thor used his uninjured hand to grab Loki by the shoulder. "Brother. It's alright. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. Without you and your amazing ice powers, the fires would still be burning down the city, Thane would still be setting them, and we would have never gotten two Infinity Stones back…And you saved me before I went and got myself killed like the oaf I am."

Loki glanced away from him and shook his head. The guilt he felt wasn't just for burning Thor's hand. "I know…I just…"

"Yes?"

He let out a shaky breath and whispered, "I tried and it wasn't good enough…we only have two stones, that's not enough t-to save them."

"Oh," Thor said, suddenly understanding. "No, no. Loki, listen to me, we're going to save them. All of them. Nebula, Bruce, Rocket, and the rest of them. _We are_. Okay?"

What was it about Thor that made Loki find comfort in his words so much? He didn't know the outcome of how this disaster. No one did. And yet, when Thor's voice took on that soft and understanding tone and said that everything would be alright, Loki believed him. He let out a sigh. "Okay." Thor smiled, happy that he wasn't worrying as much as before. Then Loki softly smiled. "Ice powers, huh?"

"Well, I don't know. What do you want to call your," Thor moved his hands around in a circle trying to think of the right words, "Casket wielding ability?" Without responding, Loki wrapped his arms around Thor's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Thor didn't say a word, he just hugged him back. It was so nice having Thor always trying to reassure him and chase away the self-doubt. After a few minutes, Loki pulled away, wiping at his eyes. "What was that for?" Thor asked quietly.

"Just…thank you."

"For what?" Thor had the gall to ask it so innocently, like he didn't know how much every little act of kindness meant to Loki.

 _Silly oaf probably doesn't know._

Loki smiled and shook his head. "For everything." Thor patted his arm with a smile.

"Hey! You guys down here?" a voice called, startling both of them until they realized who the voice belonged to.

"Barton?" Thor asked.

Said archer came walking down a set of curvy marble stairs, with his hair a mess and dust on his face. He looked like he had seen better days. He looked like he was worrying man, walking dead on his feet. "Yeah. It's me. You two okay?"

"As well as we can be I suppose," Loki said brushing himself off as Thor helped him get to his feet. Thor was still grasping his injured hand. Loki couldn't help the small pang of guilt he felt at the sight of it. "Here," he said raising his own hand out to him, "let me heal your hand."

Thor brushed him off. "It is nothing, brother. Save your energy for something more important."

Barton had reached the ground floor and glanced between them eagerly. "Did we get the gems?"

"Stones," Loki corrected, though only half-heartedly, "and only two of them."

The archer cursed, clearly worried about his wife and his best friend. "Freaking hell…"

"It's alright," Thor said confidently. "We are closer than what we were. And we will save those who were taken." He looked between Loki and Barton. "All of them."

Loki nodded in agreement. Barton looked like he would need reassuring but-

A surge of purple energy was fired just behind the wall that Loki had crashed through and the concentrated blast sent the three men flying. Barton had been standing only a few steps away from the stairs, so the blast sent him crashing into them. He hit the back of his head against the cold stone steps, but he wasn't knocked unconscious. Thor was the closest to the blast and because his back was to the blast when he was thrown into the uneven walls, he went head first. He _was_ knocked unconscious. Loki hit the same uneven, silver wall that Thor hit but whereas Thor was now unconscious, Loki was only dazed.

He struggled to sit up but then seeing Thor so close to him, not moving, made him push through the pain in his back from the impact. He made it to Thor and got him onto his back. He was still breathing and the oaf probably had a concussion going by the blood leaking from the back of his head. He held onto Thor and tried to focus on healing his head wound.

But then…

Loud footsteps approached them causing Loki to glance up, not that he didn't already know who was coming. Thanos's outline appears through the rubble and the gray smoke. Loki quickly turned his gaze back to Thor, not having the courage to look the mad Titan in the eye. His panic filled thoughts were soon drowned out by Thanos's thunderous voice. "I have spent more than half of my lifetime learning to control my emotions in a way so that I do not simply snap, because where is the dignity in that? I find being calm helps to keep a leveled head so that I am not distracted from my glorious purpose." His tone suddenly took a cold turn. "But you, Asgardian, and your friends are wearing my patience thin."

The way he talked down to him like he was a disappointing child just brought back all the old wounds. Loki couldn't speak, couldn't even move. Barton had no problem finding his words. "You want an apology, asshole?" Barton had an arrow free from his quiver and lined it up on his bow, readying himself to fire it at Thanos. The Titan was faster however and simply clenched his fist. The Reality Stone shined ruby red and Barton's arrow was transformed into a long stem rose. Barton glanced at the flower now in his hands confused. "Huh…"

" _Humans_ ," Thanos spat. "Always so disrespectful. You seemed to think so too, Asgardian, remember?" At this, Loki glanced up at the towering giant. He was still wet from the ice and snow crystals were stuck to his clothes and to the Gauntlet, but otherwise he seemed unfazed. Thanos changed his tone to sound calmer and more approving. "I know you think that I am the enemy, but if you search your mind, you will know that deep down that is not true. You were a good ally once. I wonder, could you be again?" Stars, was he seriously asking him to… "Help me complete my purpose and I will spare you and your brother."

For several seconds no one said a word and Loki just stared at Thanos in shock. Then the trickster god did something that not even Thanos could have predicted, he laughed. It just sort of came out of him, the little amused laugh. The absurdity of the fact that Thanos was asking _him_ of all people to follow him. It was ridiculous! He shook his head, still chuckling. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help." The smile suddenly left his face. He did not hold back this time. He glared the monster down and let all of his rage pour out. " _Me_. The person who you kept a prisoner on your ship for over a year, who you tortured and manipulated, who you brainwashed into killing hundreds of innocents! You are a heartless coward, sending your children and your pawns to do your dirty work. And do you think that I would ever work for you willingly?! After everything you have done to my friends, my people! I would rather die here and now."

There was no point in holding back. Not when this could be his last moment in the plane of life.

Thanos looked anything but pleased. He cold eyes glaring down at him. Loki kept on giving him his death stare, not backing down at all. He honestly expected to be hit, or to have Thanos power up the remaining stones on his Gauntlet. He did not expect Thanos to now smile like he was amused. " _Dying?_ Whoever said anything about dying? Not when there are so many more," Thanos glanced down at the unconscious Thor, "painful ways to hurt you."

 _Oh, stars no…_

The gut twisting panic came back full force and Loki knew exactly what Thanos was going to do.

Thanos swung his arm and caught Loki by the chin, throwing him backwards. He crashed to the ground hard but he had no time to think about the aches and pains. He was desperately trying to get up, to run back to where he had been, but he was not fast enough. "I look forward to seeing you at the Arch," Thanos said as parting words and then with a clench of his fist, a blue portal engulfed him and Thor.

And then they were gone.

Loki just stared at the spot where the mad Titan and his brother had been, feeling himself start to shake.

Thanos had Thor.

 _Thanos has Thor._

No, no, no, no, no…this couldn't be happening.

It couldn't be-it…why was this happening?

 _Why?_

Loki felt himself start to crumble at the shattering knowledge that unless a miracle happened, Thor would be dead along with all of the others.

 _Please_ , this couldn't be real. It was so… _unfair_.

…

They were in deep shit.

Laura and Natasha were in the hands of that egotistical monster. Thor as well as eleven others were taken. Thanos had left the fight. The entire City Museum was surrounded by aliens. And no one was answering the freaking comms!

"Can anybody hear me?" Clint's voice sounded weak and tired to his own ears. He stood leaning up against the far wall of the lobby where there was both the large hole where Loki had crashed through and a clear view out of the double glass doors that served as the museum's entrance. He had an arrow lined up on his bow waiting for the next unwitting alien to try and come through the hole in the side of the wall. Several had tried and he dispatched them quickly. If they kept coming, the hole would soon be blocked by a stack of dead aliens. "Thanos has Thor," he repeated for about the tenth time. "If Thanos gets one more person, then it is game over for us…Thanos said something about the Arch, I'll see you there, something like that. We need to get there but we can't because about five dozen aliens have us trapped here…" Not surprisingly, he didn't get an answer, only static. "Anybody on comms? Come on, we need help here." He waited about forty seconds and then cursed. "Damn things are still not working." A Chitauri came running through the hole and Clint shot him in the eye. He peeked around so that he could see through the hole and he saw several more Chitauri flying around low in the sky. And then a few seconds later, several more joined them. They were assembling a larger group which could only mean that they were preparing for a full fledge attack on the museum. Aw, crap… They could not stay here much longer. "Hey, Loki!"

The archer ran to where he had left the trickster god. After Thanos had vanished with Thor in tow, Loki seemed to just shut down. He had looked like he was the verge of a total breakdown, staring at the spot that his brother had been just a second ago. His breathing had become very erratic and Clint tried to tell him to just breathe but Loki wasn't listening to him. He was in his own world of grief and nothing Clint could have said at that moment would have shaken him out of it. Clint had figured this out and he knew there was still an army outside. So, he left the hurting god to check out their surroundings and to try and make contact with literally anyone on the team.

Clint saw that Loki hadn't moved from where he was sitting on the floor, still staring at the ground with his red rimmed, watery green eyes. It was a heart wrenching and scary sight to see. The usually cunning, charismatic, well put together man was reduced to a shivering shell of himself. He held his curled up legs to his chest and he didn't seem to notice when Clint came up to him. "No one is coming and the aliens seem to be preparing to attack at any minute. And you know they won't be taking any prisoners, unless Thanos decides he wants one of us to be the final soul he steals." Loki didn't say a word. Clint anxiously fidgeted with his bow. "The only way outta here is for us to fight our way out. Unless…do you think you have some strength to get us out of here?" Loki still hadn't said a word and Clint could feel the impatience rise up in him.

Okay, time to try a different approach.

Clint knelt down in front of Loki so that they were at the same level. Loki blinked a few times but he didn't look up. Clint sighed, "Listen to me, I get that you're hurting. _I'm_ hurting. But we can't get caught up in our emotions right now. We need to get out of here or we are going to die."

Loki was quiet but then he slowly shook his head, his eyes filled to the brim with tears. "Dying," he whispered bitterly. "I'm not afraid of dying, you know. For so long that's all I wanted. To die." Clint glanced away from him, feeling like he was getting information that he had no right to. "Thanos," Loki's voice cracked when he said that damned name, "promised me pain worse than death if I failed him…and this is it. This is worse than me just thinking Thor died at Thanos's hand, he is going to publically kill him along with the others…my brother."

Clint felt a terrible guilt clench his stomach as his words came rushing back to him like a freight train. _"I don't mind being all alone in thinking that he deserved whatever punishment Thanos had planned for him."_ If he could punch himself in the face he would. He shook his head, internally telling himself that he could fix this. Just like he told Laura he would. He glanced back up and started to say, "Loki-"

"It's my fault," Loki interrupted, the sorrow, the dread, and the complete anguish coming through those three simple words. A few tears fell over the brim. "It's all my fault. T-this is all happening b-because of me. Thor doesn't deserve this, I do."

Clint shook his head. " _No_. No, you don't."

Loki froze and stopped his rambling. He slowly and reluctantly looked up at Clint, appearing to be confused. "But you said-"

"Yeah, well, I was wrong. Okay? I was dead wrong. I…I never should have said that you deserved whatever Thanos had planned for you. I never should have said any of what I said. I'm sorry. I didn't know the whole picture before but that's still no excuse."

Loki looked stunned but then he quickly shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's still my fault."

Clint rubbed his forehead and exclaimed, "Hey! Hey, look at me." Loki did. Clint took in a deep breath. He would fix this. "It's your fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares? Are you up for this? _Are you_? I just need to know because the city's being attacked by aliens…"

It wasn't funny. Not in the slightest. It was dead serious. But saying it out loud just made him realize how absurd it sounded. This whole battle was crazy if you thought about it.

He half chuckled in spite of himself. "Look, the city's being attacked by aliens, we're fighting a purple giant who has rainbow colored gems, you're the Norse God of Mischief, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes any sense." Loki half glared at him, not looking amused. Clint stopped making light of the situation and got down to his point. "But I'm going back out there because it's my job. And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. You stay in here, you're good. I'll send someone to come and get you. But if you step out that door…you are an Avenger."

Loki's eyes shown with shock and disbelief but then it slowly morphed into a sort of understanding. He knew that Clint meant it. Good, because Clint did mean it. And he was just happy to see the look of complete hopelessness vanish from Loki's face. As the seconds passed, Clint started to feel like his little speech was awfully familiar. "I could've sworn I said basically the same speech to Wanda a few years back…I guess you know I'm getting old. I can't even come up with a new motivational speech to say." He stood up straight and patted Loki on the shoulder. "Alright? Good chat." Then he headed for the double glass doors and didn't hesitate in going through them.

And then Clint wasn't really sure how long he had been fighting these damn aliens off. It could have only been five minutes, it could have been as long as five hours. Regardless, he was tired and running low on arrows.

He fired a multiple hit arrow as he jumped for cover behind a wrecked car. The arrow ran itself through a Chitauri's eye socket and then fired off small poisonous darts, hitting a good handful of the aliens nearby. It seemed to do little good in the long run though. They were surrounding him from all sides, on foot and in the air.

A Chitauri on a hovercraft screeched and all the other hovercrafts filed into some sort of aerial formation. Clint looked up to the sky in horror, all the Chitauri on the hovercrafts were preparing to fire. On him. He couldn't survive this. No one could survive this. He ducked down, although he knew it would do him little to no good, and prepared for death.

Clint really thought that Loki would come and help him fight these ugly things off. He-

The Chitauri screeched again and he could hear their laser guns start to fire down on him. But then a curious thing happened; the sound of their guns suddenly didn't seem so loud, like they weren't right above him. And he didn't feel the lasers rip through him.

What was going on?

He looked up and realized that he wasn't behind a wrecked car, in the kill zone anymore. No, he was by the entrance of the City Museum. He saw the Chitauri fire at the spot that he had been at seconds before and he saw the car blowup. He turned to his right and saw Loki, with a dagger in hand, surveying the scene. It took Clint a bit before he understood that Loki had teleported him out of his predicament. He half chuckled as he got to his feet. "Thank God you came when you did."

"Well, I wasn't just going to sit feeling sorry for myself and let you die, now was I?" With a wave of his hand, a green glow started and materialized in Loki's hand a quiver filled with arrows. He handed the full quiver to Clint, who took it eagerly. "You take care of the ones on the ground. Let me worry about the airborne ones." Clint nodded his head as he readied himself to continue the fight.

He never should have doubted Loki.

About coming to help or about where his allegiances lied. It was pretty clear now.

Together they dispatched the Chitauri quickly. Clint fired off arrows, taking down the aliens on foot one by one and Loki threw daggers like there was no tomorrow. He would target the driver of the hovercraft usually resulting in the thing crashing to the ground or into another hovercraft. When the crash and the explosion that happened afterwards got too close for comfort, Loki simply made a green shield that protected him and Clint from the wreckage.

It was good to have a magic-user backing you up in a battle like this.

Before Clint knew it, all the Chitauri were dead or dying. He took in a tired deep breath after it was all over and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Loki brushed the hair from his face and conjured up two more daggers. Apparently, he just had an endless supply of those things. "We need to head to the Arch. If we see any of the team, than we tell them what's happened."

Clint nodded in agreement, but first he went around to retrieve his arrows from the dead creatures. When he found one that had little to no blood on it, he walked up to Loki and used the arrow to "knight" him. Loki gave him a quizzical look. Clint shrugged. "There, it's official now. You're an Avenger."

Loki glanced at the ground and smiled to himself, like some sort of proud honor was awarded to him. But at the same time he appeared to be trying to rein back in his excitement for officially becoming part of the team. So it wasn't a complete surprise when the first words to come out of his mouth were in a jokingly tone. "That's all a person gets for joining? A mock knighthood? I don't get a parade or something?"

Alright that was funny.

And Clint had to chuckle at something that was funny.

"I got a question for you," he said in the midst of chuckling. "Did you get the title, _God of Mischief_ , because of your sarcasm or did you have it from birth, and it's like some self-fulfilling prophecy crap?"

Loki chuckled too. "I got that title after I transformed myself into a snake so I could pull a prank on Thor."

Clint pictured it his head and laughed out loud. "That's certainly seems like the start of a good prank."

Loki nodded in fond remembrance. "Oh, believe me it was." Clint nodded as well. Wow, had he judged this guy too harshly before. But that was all in the past now. And he had fixed this just like he had told Laura.

With the thought of Laura and the mention of Thor, Clint and Loki before remembered the seriousness of the situation and turned their attention back to it. "Alright," Clint said, placing his hand to the comm in his ear, "if anyone can hear us, we're all clear here."

At that moment, an injured but not dead Chitauri jumped up from the ground. Loki was closest to the creature but the alien was quick to shove him to the ground before he could react. Clint grabbed out an arrow but it was too late. The Chitauri hit him upside the head and he landed to the ground with a groan. The Chitauri stood above him but was focused on something else. That's when Clint realized that he hadn't landed to the ground. He had landed on a crashed hover ship. "Aw, crap."

The ship started to go up into the air with a vertical take-off. Well, this was lovely. He couldn't see Loki anymore but he could hear him shout out, "Barton!"

"Forget about me!" he hollered back. "Just get to the Arch! Get Laura and Nat and whoever else you can!" Then he was flying high and fast with the Chitauri standing too close for comfort. Clint reached for his arrows but the Chitauri kicked him in the gut stopping him.

They were in deep shit now. Because with himself getting captured…the fifteen was complete.

…

Loki was sprinting through the city streets of St. Louis, desperately trying to get to the Arch as fast as he could. This was madness, this was madness, this was madness… He had absolutely no bloody idea what he would do when he got to the Arch, he just knew he had to get there. All he heard over the comms for fourteen blocks was a loud, humming static. But as he approached block fifteen he could start to hear someone get frustrated. _"For the love of God, someone answer me!"_

Loki knew that voice. "Sam?"

" _Wha-Loki? Yeah, it's Sam. Where you and Thor at?"_

"Thanos has Thor and Barton." He hated saying those words together in a sentence. "The fifteen is complete and Thanos is heading to the Arch."

" _Why the Arch?"_ Quill asked, sounding out of breath.

"I don't know _why_ , I just know that's what he said."

" _He's right,"_ Hope said. _"I see him and-oh God. I see the others."_ If that wasn't enough to push everyone to hurry up and run to the Arch then nothing would have.

Except maybe Stark's stern command. _"Everyone hull ass."_

And everyone still left did.

After several minutes of more running, and being completely out of breath, Loki finally came within fifty feet of the silver Arch. It still stood tall after all of the day's destruction. There were burn marks and a few dents but nothing that couldn't be fixed. And Thanos stood on the cement near the two bases, raising his fist into the air. And the others…he couldn't focus on them. All he could focus on was the fact that Thanos was creating a barrier. He wanted to ensure that the fifteen would not be saved, so Loki doubted it was any old barrier. It probably wouldn't let him teleport through once it was up. Maybe not even Strange could get through it.

As if thinking about him, invoked his presence, Strange flew down beside Loki and until he running with him. "If we're getting through, we need to do it now!" Strange said.

"I agree."

"Tony!" Strange yelled, much to Loki's surprise. "Get down here! We have a way to get close to Thanos but our window of opportunity is closing!"

" _Loud and clear."_ Two seconds later Stark flew in and landed next to them. His suit was burnt and mangled in some places. So much so, Loki had to wonder if Thane got to him at one point.

"Loki…" Strange said expectedly.

 _Now or never._

With a wave of his hands the three men were teleported so that they were at one of the bases of the Arch. Just in time too, the barrier was finished being put up. The trio screeched to a halt and took in their surroundings.

"So," Stark said, breathing deeply, "that's what teleporting is like… It certainly was…an experience." His nano tech suit began to recede back into Stark's triangle shape arch reactor.

"You are going to need your armor," Loki said.

"I know…I just need the broken pieces to be fixed."

Loki turned to his right and saw Strange sneaking a look from behind their spot. He had a sinking dread fill him up. He wasn't ready to see the others in their predicament but, he looked out too. "Oh, stars above…" The fifteen were suspended in the air, held up by a shimmering rainbow light. All were awake except for the dear Captain. He looked to be unconscious and hurt. Red had bleed through his uniform. Loki saw Nebula, Thor, and Bruce and the sight of them hovering in the air, straining to get free from their fate was painful to watch to say the least.

He couldn't watch them anymore, if he did he would caught up in the hopelessness of this damn situation and then he wouldn't be of any help to anyone. He turned away and leaned back against the Arch. He rubbed his head. "W-what do we do?"

Stark took his place in looking out and then shook his head slowly, looking like he had lost control of the whole world. "I was just about to ask you. You're the one who always seems to have all the ideas."

"Your turn."

Stark turned away as well and stood next to Loki. Strange continued to watch, a pained expression on his face. The three men were quiet. Too quiet for Loki's liking. The quiet made the nerve wracking tension grow. Loud footsteps could be heard and he knew it was Thanos walking closer to the fifteen. He began to speak, "I am sorry that your deaths have to be publicized, but I wish for your heroes to understand the consciences of their actions."

 _This was it._

They weren't going to save them.

Nebula, Thor, Bruce, Rocket, Steve, Natasha, Barton, Rhodey, Shuri, Ned, Darcy, Pepper, Christine, Laura, Quill's grandfather…They were all going to die. They had failed.

But leave it to Tony Stark to buy them a few more minutes.

"Thanos! Wait!"

Loki could not believe his ears. He turned on Stark and angrily whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Stopping him," Stark whispered back.

"Stark," Thanos said in realization. Well, they had turned his attention from the fifteen to them now. Great, now they would die. "What are you doing here?"

Stark shook his head to himself and literally said the first thing that came to him. "Yeah. I just thought I'd come and try to, um, you know, negotiate with you."

"Negotiate?" Thanos questioned, sounding like he had moved closer to where they were hidden. Loki tightened his grasp on the dagger he had pulled out.

Stark rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, negotiate. You let the fifteen go, call off your army, and I don't know, maybe you and I go somewhere and you explain your glorious purpose to me. 'Cause you know, Reindeer Games didn't do it justice." Loki spun to Stark and gave him, you cannot be serious, look. Stark shrugged. He _was_ seriously considering going with Thanos in exchange for the others. Loki wanted to bang his head against the Arch.

"You amuse me, Stark," Thanos said, chuckling lightly. "I might even be tempted to take you up on your offer if you had better bargaining chips. Because as much as I respect you, a promised conversation with you is not going to change my mind from what I have to do."

Stark's eyes lit up with that light that meant he had just thought of something risky and crazy. Well, this wasn't going to be good. "The Stones," Stark said, looking between Loki and Strange. "If I give him the Mind and Time Stones back, he won't kill them."

No, no, no. There was no way in hell that they were going to give Thanos the stones back. Loki was rapidly shaking his head. "You don't know if that will work."

"And you don't know if it won't," Stark snapped before letting out a very shaky breath. "Whatever it takes…" He was repeating T'Challa's words that he had gotten from the dear Captain. "I gotta do it. Strange?"

And thank the stars, because Strange clasped his necklace closer to himself and slowly shook his head. And while Stark looked upset, Loki just looked relieved. Strange wasn't going to give away the Time Stone and probably wouldn't let Stark give away the Mind Stone. "Tony…"

Stark glowered at the doctor and snapped, "Your girlfriend is out there too, in case you didn't notice!"

Strange's extreme look of guilt was enough to make Loki stand up for him. "Leave him alone, he just has very real doubts. And so do I."

Stark threw his arms up in the air. "Fine. I have the Mind Stone and that has got to be worth something." He was starting to leave. He was more than eager to make the sacrifice play.

Tony Stark, a true selfless hero, ready to potentially die for everyone else.

Not on Loki's watch.

He quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. "You are not going out there. Okay?"

Stark started rapidly shaking his head. "I cannot wait any longer. We need to act now or they all are going to die." His desperation was starting to shine through and Loki could relate to it.

"I know," he said trying to be comforting. They did need to do something but he was not going to let Stark walk into that monster's clutches. No way! He knew what it was like and he wasn't going to let him and-Wait. Loki knew what it was like. What it was like to be around Thanos. Probably better than anyone else with the exception of Nebula and Gamora. Maybe if he… _yes_. And he had strength enough to…

"Loki?" Stark asked, a mix between concerned and eager. Loki glanced at the man, feeling the gravity of his newly formed plan. It was complete and utter madness, but it might have a chance of working.

He knew what it probably meant for him.

Loki shook his head and told himself that it was all going to be okay. And even if it wasn't, well, that was okay too. He had found friends and purpose and acceptance in such a short period of time and he knew he would do whatever it took to protect it. So whatever his fate held, so be it. He glanced at Stark and murmured, "I-I…I have a plan."

…

Bruce had tried numerous times to Hulk out.

From the moment he woke up alone in a cool dark cell till right this very second of being suspended in the air with rainbow energy swirling around him, threatening to kill him. Not just him but the fourteen other individuals who were in the same hellish situation as him.

He had no luck in succeeding.

It wasn't that he wasn't angry or stressed enough. Boy, was he! But the big green asshole just wasn't wanting to show up! If he lived through this day he was going to have a serious talk with the Hulk because this wasn't funny anymore.

Bruce was sure that they were going to die when freaking Tony Stark yelled for Thanos to stop and basically offered to go with him in exchange for letting all who were taken free. Thanos turned him down and Bruce was then positive that they were going to die.

He had no clue why he was wasting time doubting Tony and his craziness.

"Yo, grape man," Tony called as he came from around the base of the Arch. Thanos turned with a curious look, like he wanted to see what happened next. "These are what you want isn't it?" Tony had something in his hands. He-oh no. Tony raised the glowing Mind Stone and Strange's gray necklace with the green Time Stone up into the air. Had he gone insane? "So, here's the deal, you call your army off, send them back through the wormhole you so nicely ripped open in the sky…and then you and I go somewhere and I'll give you the stones."

The answer was yes. Tony had gone insane.

Thanos with the hint of a smile raised his right hand outward. "I'll take the stones now."

Tony smiled a fake smile and shook his head. "Yeah, I think I'll keep my two bargaining chips until after the space army from hell is gone, thank you very much." Thanos smiled, fully this time, and nodded his agreement to the bargain. Thanos raised the hand with the Gauntlet, Bruce could have sworn that he had seen Tony flinch, clenched his fist and almost immediately the Chitauri on their hover ships started flying by the hundreds to the blue portal in the sky. The Outriders raced back to the ominous, pointy pod ships.

Tony spent most of this time sending Thanos a level glare. Eventually he glanced over at the suspended people. His worried eyes were checking over everyone to see that they were alright. Sometimes his eyes lingered a little bit on certain people, though who Bruce wasn't sure because he couldn't turn his head. Tony's gaze finally reached him and he appeared relieved that he was okay. Well, "okay" was a relative term. Tony faced Thanos again. "Let them down."

"After we leave," Thanos said.

"They're no threat to you. Come on, the de-Look at him." He pointed at Steve. "He is unconscious!" Thanos said nothing but he had the gall to smile as if he was amused. Tony certainly seemed ticked by this. "What, is this amusing for you?"

Thanos chuckled, "Fun is not something one thinks about when trying to ensure the salvation of the universe, but this does put a smile on my face."

Tony clenched his fists. "And that right there proves that you're insane."

"Do enlighten me," Thanos said calmly.

"Everything that you have done, the countless atrocities, the slaughter of populations, it's all been because the universe's resources are limited. Cut away half the population and then there will finally be enough for everyone, but newsflash genius! You had the most powerful items in the entire multiverse and you could have used them for good. If you were so concerned about future lives, you could have used the stones to create an infinite amount of food, water, land! But no, you _had_ to tear families apart, erase friends, and force the whole universe to suffer from the pain of loss and that makes you an indescribable psychopath." Bruce had to stare at his friend in shock. His mouthing off to a literal godlike giant could have been seen as irresponsible, but there was no joking tone in Tony's voice. Only iron resolve. And such a heated hatred that Bruce had not realized Tony had for Thanos. Tony finished by saying, "Joke's on you buddy. You said a reckoning is coming for us? _No_. A reckoning is coming for _you_."

"Oh really?" Thanos said in mock surprise.

Tony gritted his teeth. " _Yes_. We will never stop. And even if we fail, I promise you that if we cannot save the souls you stole, then you can be damned sure we will avenge every single one of them."

Thanos did not look ticked off or like he was mad or anything. He just nodded his head. "This is why I like you Stark. You're stubborn and headstrong and you do not care what anyone thinks of you." Tony glanced away from Thanos and started to fidget with the two stones in his hands. That was a bit unlike Tony. "The army is gone." Thanos motioned for Tony to step closer, which he reluctantly did.

Bruce couldn't believe that he was about to witness one of his closest friends willingly leave with Thanos. It couldn't be real. It had to be a trick.

Tony glanced at those suspended in the air again. He could see all the worry and concern and he smiled knowingly. "Guys, don't fret. I got this all under control. Besides, I have faith that it will all work out in the end." Then Tony glared down Thanos as he clenched his fist. The Space Stone lit up and a blue portal engulfed them.

And just like that, they were gone.

But they had left something behind. Three somethings. The Space, Power, and Soul Stones had appeared in the exact spot where Tony and Thanos had been a second ago. Then they and those who were suspended in the air, dropped to the ground.

Bruce landed on the ground hard and flat on his face. He groaned and tried his best to get to his feet, or at the very least to a sitting position. Someone grabbed his arm and started helping him. He glanced over his shoulder. Natasha. He was overjoyed to see her again. It had been bad enough to know that they were to both die but then he couldn't even see her. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she said back as she sat down beside him. Her hair was a mess and her eyes shined with sadness and understanding. She was upset about Tony making the sacrifice play for them too, but clearly she had accepted it as something Tony would do. Something he would stupidly do.

The barrier around them and the Arch started to dissolve and the team came rushing towards the fifteen shaken up people. Bruce glanced around him and watched the happy reunions. Clint and his wife, Laura, ran to each other and hugged each other with no intention of letting go any time soon. Nat smiled at her two old friends.

Thor rubbed the back of his head and winced. Clearly he had a painful head injury. He helped the girl next to him get to her feet, the one he knew. Darcy was her name. Darcy was apparently running on some sort of adrenaline rush from not dying and exclaimed, a bit too loudly, "Holy shit! I never want to do that again!"

Valkyrie hurriedly made her way to Thor but slowed her pace when she was a few feet away. "Your majesty," she greeted, not hiding the fact that she was happy to him.

Thor smiled with a grimace. "Hey."

The Guardians ran over to Rocket who held out a hand to stop them. "Before you all ask and gush all over me, I'm totally fine. Just a little shaken up."

Groot sat next to the raccoon and said a quiet, "I am Groot."

Rocket smiled and pulled the tree into a hug. "Don't worry, I ain't leavin' you anytime soon."

Gamora searched through the crowd until she spotted who she was looking for. "Nebula!"

Nebula's usually stone cold expression had dropped long ago and now she just looked overjoyed to see her sister. The two reached each other and pulled each other into a tight embrace. "Please tell me you punched Super Giant's stupid face in," Nebula mumbled into Gamora's shoulder.

Gamora shook her head. "Didn't have a chance too. Maybe we'll do it together."

Quill, after seeing that Rocket was okay and that his girlfriend was happily reunited with her sister, ran over to the white-haired old man who was his grandfather. The old man wore simple gray pants and a knitted sweater vest. He was still on the ground, his hands shaking from everything. "Hey!" Quill called out, getting to his knees and putting a hand on his arm to help him. "Are you…doing alright?"

The poor old man shook his head at a loss for words. "I…certainly have never experienced anything like that. I-I don't…"

Quill nodded and eyed him worriedly still. "As long as you aren't hurt. It's bad enough I'm the reason you got kidnapped, I'd never forgive myself if you were hurt."

Quill's grandfather turned to him and eyed him carefully for the first real time. He took in Quill's features and his big red leather coat and quietly asked, "Do I know you?"

Quill immediately looked away. "I…I'm sorry for running away. That was a really crappy thing to do. Your daughter just died and then your grandson ran away. Must have been a terrible day for you."

The old man's eyes shined with wonder and realization. "Peter?"

At that same moment the other Peter found his friend. "Ned!"

"Pete!"

Peter sprinted and almost ran into Ned. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you-?"

"I'm okay," Ned reassured. "I'm okay." Peter nodded and then hugged his friend.

It was a day for hugs.

Bucky and Sam where on either side of the unconscious Steve. "How is he?" Sam asked, taking his red goggles off.

Bucky had his flesh fingers to Steve's neck. "Still breathing." He moved his hand from his neck to his shoulder. "Come on, punk. Wake up."

Scott and Hope had no direct family or close friend among the fifteen but they watched the reunions but when they saw Rhodey struggling to get to his feet, they were quick to help out. "Hey man," Scott called out to him, "you good?"

Rhodey mumbled, "Been better, been worse too."

"Let's help him up," Hope said, taking authority. Together, the two shrinkers got Rhodey to his feet. He stumbled a bit but they kept him steady.

Shuri was nearby and cried for T'Challa. "Brother!"

T'Challa was speechless as he reached his sister and dropped to his knees, right next to Shuri. Again he didn't say a word, he just held her as she hid her face in his shoulder. "It's okay. I've got you," he finally said, soothingly.

Bruce let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

They were alive.

They had faced death itself, all of them, and they had made it out to tell the tale another day. Sure, Thanos and his army was still out there and Tony was now in need of rescuing unless he pulled off some miraculous stunt…but they were alive. They all needed this moment to just breathe.

Then Bruce felt a chill go up his spin. Someone was missing from their group. He glanced around and he knew someone who should have been there was not. Then it hit him.

Where was Loki?

Dr. Strange suddenly emerged from where he had been hiding behind the foot of the Arch, pulling Bruce from his thoughts. It was the same spot Tony had been behind. Had Strange not tried to stop him?

Dr. Christine Palmer ran to him, ecstatic. "Stephen! Oh, thank God you're okay! They came for us after you had all left and I didn't know if you were alive or-" Strange gently brushed her hair out of her face and just stared at her with an almost unreadable expression. _Almost_ unreadable. The usually stone faced wizard doctor let his poker face fall enough to see all of the regret that was shining in his eyes. Christine noticed. "Stephen? Are you okay?"

Strange nodded his head but looked no better. He kissed the top of her head and walked away from his confused girlfriend. He headed in the direction of the three sparkly stones. He knelt down and picked them up with some sort of glowy orange magic. His piercing eyes looked over the stones, almost like he was examining them.

"Tony…" Rhodey said, almost excepting whatever his friend's fate was.

Peter shook his head, desperately. "No."

Pepper was shaking her head too. "He…he…" She couldn't go on. Wanda was next to her and patted her on the shoulder, but she looked as if she knew something. Something terrible. Even more terrible than this situation.. Maybe that explained her quietness.

"He saved you all," Valkyrie said trying to give them all a consolation. It certainly didn't make Bruce feel any better.

"That doesn't explain how the stones are with us," Hope said. Scott nodded his head rapidly like a bobble head.

Strange stood up, three of the most power items in the galaxy floating just above his left palm, and started to walk back the way he came. He paused halfway though and opened his mouth but then stopped himself. He shook his head, clearly angry. Whether with the situation or with himself would remain to be seen. He couldn't look at any of the team for the life of him and he finally said, "I am so sorry…There was no other way."

"There was no other way for what?" Sam asked. Something about Strange's words and the matter in which he said them…it was scary. But Strange didn't answer Sam's question and he continued walking. "Hey, Strange!"

Strange called out, "You can come out now, they're all gone."

Before anyone could even think to ask Strange what the hell he was talking about, Tony Stark came from behind the Arch. With his hands in his pockets and his head lowered like he was ashamed, he looked just as regrettable as Strange.

But how was Tony even here? They all had seen him get taken by Thanos. Hadn't they?

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, confused and, rightfully so, relieved.

"Tony?" Pepper asked in disbelief and then she ran to him.

Even with her arms wrapped around him, Tony still looked like he had the weight of the whole world weighing him down. But he wrapped his arms around Pepper, his hands getting lost in her hair. He sighed, a mixture of relief and regret. "Hey, Pep."

"Is the metal man twins?" Drax asked in a hush voice to Mantis.

The girl shook her head. "I did not think so."

Thor stared at Tony and Strange, who were avoiding his eye contact, and he gasped. " _No_. No, no, no."

"Thor?" Bruce asked, tentatively stepping closer to the God of Thunder. Said God looked as lost and down as he had that morning in Wakanda, when he had stayed up all night thinking about the fact that his brother had been tortured by- _Oh no_.

Loki.

Where _was_ Loki?

Unless…

Bruce rubbed his face with both hands in anguish.

Quill started backwards, a look of shock on his face. Apparently he figured it out too. "Oh, man."

While several people still looked confused, a few put the pieces together that there was only one explanation as to how Tony appeared to go with Thanos and yet here he was standing before them. Only one explanation.

Nebula lowered her head and squeezed her hands into fists. She knew and knowing was hurting her. In the softest voice she whispered, "It wasn't Stark who went with Thanos, it was Loki."

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 _Author's Note Again: So, I'm going to hide behind my couch while you all yell at me…_

 _As I said in Chapter 17, the next chapter has an even worse cliffhanger. So terribly sorry about that. This took forever to write and I honestly thought that I would be able to write more and faster in the summer. Oh, well. Better late than never I suppose. In case you wanted to know who said the lines where everyone starts chattering at once, here's who said what:_

" _There has got to be something, anything that we can do!" –Quill_

" _How do we-what should we-?" –Hope_

" _I am Groot!" –Groot_

" _We have to get the gems and save them, that's all we can do." –Thor_

" _How in God's name do we fix this?" –Rocket_

 _Now, on to my Avengers: Endgame thoughts! (The film has been out for several months, so_ _ **spoilers**_ _, but everyone who was going to see should have already seen it) I enjoyed the experience a lot and the film itself was great, a little all over the place but nothing ridiculous. Lots of fan service that had me so happy! Especially the "Hail Hydra" Cap elevator scene and the show stopping scene of Cap wielding Thor's Hammer! And Tony wielding the Gauntlet…Oh. My. God! This story had great endings for some of these characters and it made me so hyped for Spider-Man: Far From Home (which I saw and that's great to). The last fight, hands down the best final boss fight of any of the MCU films. I loved all of the little cameos throughout the film, especially Loki's cameos. (My theater audience was great, they screamed whenever Loki was on screen!)_

 _I do not like the fact that people died though. But fret not, for I am a fanfiction writer so in my canon they are all alive and happy. Also, am I the only one who feels like Paul Bettany should have gotten a cameo in this film? He has been with the MCU since day one and he didn't even get a cameo in one of the biggest films in Marvel history? Does not seem right. It didn't have to be a Vision cameo, it could have been a J.A.R.V.I.S. cameo._

 _Anyways, I should let you know that I will be incorporating some things from Endgame into this story, but obviously not everything. (I have no interest in doing anything with Scott's time heist in this story, because for one, the work required for something like that is insane, and for two, Redemption for the Blue Hearts is its own animal, although influenced by the previous MCU films and heavily on IW. I have had an ending in mind since Chapter 7, which I have changed twice already. Scott's time heist, although great and entertaining, is not going to be how Loki, the Avengers, and the Guardians save the day.) Now that I have written far too much, I will say once again thank you for all of your constant support. Thank you!_

 _Also, I have started writing a new shorter story for Stranger Things fanfiction called, The Bonds that Connect Us. Check it out sometime!_

 _I brought this back from my last chapter:_

 _ **I HAVE A REQUEST!**_ _(It might see like a weird request but here me out.) So for a class I had last fall and a class I had this spring, I had to make a blog and a website. The blog is not that important, but the website is to get me out there in the mass communication industry, preferably as a film editor, because that's what I want to do. And I have no money to buy a domain. So…are you willing to help a girl out? If you give me your email address in a review or PM and I will send you an email with my website (and blog) URL. And if you guys want to send that email to others that would be great too. I just want to spread the word out. And if no one sends me their email…cool. That's fine too. If you do decide to give me your email you must write it out in words because gets weird about the "at" symbol and the dot com. Example:_

 _thegirlwholikestoomuchstuffatgmaildotcom_

 _Okay? Cool._


	22. Greetings and Preview

Greetings!

I felt obligated to state that I'm still alive.

Also, I said it once in one of my Author's Notes, but I must say it again: There might be times where there are long breaks in-between chapters which I apologize for, but _**I am not going to quit on this story.**_

The thing is, I have started writing another fan fiction (because I'm crazy) and I was focusing on that for a while. And then with school and life and another birthday coming and going, I've been busy. I have been focusing on me a bit more than usual, which is a good thing, but that leaves time for writing to be put on the back burner. I know I will get reviews saying it is fine to take personal time over getting another chapter out, and I agree, but I still feel bad.

So, in light of that, I give you a preview of Chapter Nineteen (i.e. the first ten pages that I have completed.) I don't know when the rest will be out, but maybe this will tide everyone over till I can get back to writing.

Kay?

Cool.

 _Ch. 19 Preview:_

Tony's idea was insanity, he knew that going in. But Pepper's life had been on the line, what other choice did he have but to bargain with Thanos? He would hand himself over in a heartbeat to save her and the rest of the team. And begrudgedly, he would hand over the Time and Mind Stones too. Or in this case, just the Mind Stone on account of Strange held the Time Stone close to him like his life depended on it.

He had been angry at Strange in that moment. Angry at his secretive nature and his unreadable expressions. And with the fact that the good doctor had given the Time Stone away only a few days ago and now he was all determined to keep it from Thanos's grasp. Just when he thought he could pin the guy down, he did something that completely changed his M.O.

Guess that was just the mystery that was Strange.

Tony was going to do it. He was going to step out from behind their hiding spot at the base of the Arch and hand himself and the beautiful yellow stone in his hand. But then Loki grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. "You are not going out there. Okay?"

Tony was touched by the trickster God's attempt to change his mind. It was nice to know that people cared. But he still shook his head rapidly. "I cannot wait any longer. We need to act now or they all are going to die." He knew that his desperation was starting to shine through and he was hoping that maybe Loki would find a way to understand that this was just something that had to be done.

Loki nodded and tried his best to be comforting, "I know." But what he was thinking was clearly written all over his face: under no circumstance was he going to let Tony go out there.

Again, Tony was touched. And again, he didn't have time for this. He would trade his life for his team, his family, without question. And he was the one Thanos was expecting. He had to be the one to do this. It was simple really. He would put Loki's mind at ease that it was okay, then he would hand himself and the Mind Stone over to Thanos, and pray that the stupid grape accepted his bargain to call off his army.

Tony was going to do this. Seconds away from telling Loki it was okay and that he shouldn't worry about him, when he looked up and saw that Loki's expression had dropped. It was like he was scared and yet determined. Like he just thought of the most wonderfully crazy and horrible plan in existence. Tony didn't like this at all. Was this how he looked when he thought up one his harebrained schemes? "Loki?" he asked, his concern dripping through the one word.

Loki didn't say anything for a moment, thinking quietly to himself. Then he glanced at Tony and murmured, "I-I…I have a plan." Tony watched as he took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and then begin to explain what was on his mind. "We fought hard to get these two Stones and you were right, stealing back the Stones is the only way to bring all of those trapped souls back. We cannot give them up. And we cannot lose you either. You are too important, you keep this team together. But I'm…"

Tony blinked. "Loki, what are you saying?" He had a bad feeling wash over him.

Loki hesitated for a second, before deciding to continue on. "I could make myself look and sound like you and create the illusion that I have the Stones. I could negotiate with him to leave and spare the others-"

Tony started shaking his head and that bad feeling had turned to full-blown dread. "No."

"Let me finish-"

"No!" he said more firmly. "Loki, I am not going to let you walk into that monster's clutches again."

Loki sighed, his exhaustion from the battle and from the gravity of what he was suggesting to do suddenly weighing heavily on him. "It's not your decision to make, Tony. The entire universe needs the Avengers. And they will succeed, I know that now. But they cannot win this without their leaders. The Avengers need you."

Tony wanted to smack his forehead with his hand. "No, you idiot, we need you."

It was Loki's turn to appear touched. "That means a lot to me, hearing you say that. But my mind is made up." Tony's mind was racing. He had to stop him from doing this. He would stop him from doing this. He would find a way to stop him. He just had to. He was kidding himself. What was he going to do? He was just a man in a can. Well, a broken can. The pieces of his armor still needed fixing. The point was, what the hell was he going to do that was going to stop a literal God who also just happened to have magic? Oh, that's right, nothing. Loki let out a shaky breath, met Tony's eyes, and half smiled. "Whatever it takes, right? Just, tell my brother…Nebula…everyone actually, thank you. For everything. And that the sun will shine on all of us again."

Loki was afraid.

As much as he tried to hide it, it was so obvious.

That very fact made Tony feel worse about this whole thing.

"Loki," Strange started in a quiet voice. Tony and Loki both faced him, and jeez, the guy looked terrible. Tony figured they all must have looked lousy. Himself with this dread and pang of anxiety that Loki was really going to take his place, Loki with his fear, and now Strange with his not at all hidden guilt. "Might I suggest that you save some of your strength? Imagine what you could do with the combined power of your traditional magic and a certain reality bending stone."

Loki half smiled again. "Doctor, you may be overly secretive but you have some inspired ideas."

Strange shook his head. "I did not come up with it. Well, actually I did, but I only knew it because I saw it."

And there was Strange again talking in riddles. Did the magic man think life was a giant puzzle for everyone else to solve? Loki didn't waste any time on focusing on Strange's by now usual strangeness. He instead focused on what had to be done. With a flick of the wrist, green sparks of magic came from his fingers and then with another flick of the wrist, he conjured up the Reality Stone. Tony peered out at Thanos. The Titan guy hadn't reacted and when he slightly turned…Tony could see the Gauntlet and it looked like the ruby red gem was still in its place. Meaning, Loki had created a simple illusion so that Thanos would think that he still has the Reality Stone. When in reality, Loki had the stone.

Loki eyed the stone for a second and then closed his eyes to concentrate. At first nothing happened, but then again Tony wasn't really sure he knew what was supposed to happen. And then…a dim red light materialized over both of Loki's hands and it swirled around until it took shape creating something. Two somethings. When the red light vanished Loki was no longer holding the Reality Stone. He was holding the Mind Stone in one hand and Strange's necklace in the other.

But of course he wasn't really holding the two Infinity Stones. He just bended reality to appear like he was.

Chuckling to himself, Loki looked over the objects now in his hands. "Well, that's three…" Then the smile left him and he became determined, serious. Not exactly what you expect from a guy titled, "The God of Mischief". But Loki was more than just some silly Norse mythology title, wasn't he? He was an Avenger. Clearly. And because of that fact, Tony felt more powerless. Because he was supposed to protect the Avengers…Not stand idly by and watch as one of them gave themselves over to murdering megalomaniacs. "Wish me luck."

Tony tried one last attempt. "Loki, please-"

Too late.

Loki twisted his hands again and his green magic went over him, from head to toe. And then Tony wasn't looking at Loki. He was looking at himself. Under different circumstances, it would have been pretty cool to see Loki impersonate him. It'd be kind of funny. Tony wasn't laughing now. "Sorry," Loki said, but in Tony's voice, "bit busy. Trying to do my best impression of you. Yo, grape man." Then much to Tony's horror, he left their hiding spot, and began to negotiate with Thanos.

The only thing stopping him from shouting out that Loki get back here was his own shock that this was really happening. It was like the words were caught in his throat and all he could do was listen to Loki pretend to be him.

And the only thing stopping him from running after him, from stopping Loki from doing this, was Strange's firm grip on his shoulder.

Loki could handle himself.

He was pretty damn powerful and he could be pretty cunning when he wanted to be. Hell, he wielded three of the most powerful objects in the universe.

Tony had faith in him. But he knew how powerful and how cunning Thanos was too. And if Thanos found out that Loki had tricked him into calling off his army, into retreating, into releasing the fifteen then… Thanos would…

There was nothing in the world Tony could do. And dammit, did it make him feel like he wanted to scream.

…

Loki was with Thanos.

Loki was with…his brother was with that bloodthirsty bastard. He…no. No. It couldn't…but it was and…

Ever since Thor found out that Loki had been the one to go with Thanos, dark thunder clouds had not stopped rolling in. Thunder was booming in the distance and lightning was dancing on the edges of the scary looking clouds. Tony and Strange had quietly explained what had happened. How Loki had used the Reality Stone and his own magic to create his best illusion yet.

The revelation shocked everyone to their cores.

It was silent for almost a minute. Nobody wanted to say a word, nobody could say a word. The only sounds that could be heard was the storm clouds, a heavy breeze that had picked up with the clouds, and the distant noise of police sirens.

Thor didn't pay attention to any of it and he only could think about one thing: Loki. Why would he do it? Hand himself over to Thanos? The answer was obvious and if his brother was here right now he could just image what he would say. Something on the lines of, "To save you and the others, you witless oaf." But his brother wasn't here right now, he was with that torturing murderer.

Oh, God…please don't let this be real. Please let this all just be a fantasy.

It wasn't.

Thor's hands clenched into tight fists. He felt a full range of emotions, fear, regret, guilt, sorrow, and anger. The anger welled up inside of him more than anything else and he just wanted to hurt who was responsible for this. Thanos was gone, so that wasn't going to happen. But it was still there, this overpowering need to scream and hit. Once upon a time, he was known for flipping over large banquet tables in the dining halls of Asgard when he was upset. Handling his emotions weren't his strong suit and on top of that he just wanted to be able to blame someone.

And he knew that it wasn't their faults but…

He suddenly looked to Tony and Strange and shouted, "How could you let him go?!"

Some of the Avengers and the Guardians flinched at his sudden outburst, but not Strange. He just glanced at the ground and remained quiet. Tony on the other hand… "Is that what you think?" Tony asked, his voice loud and his tone defensive. "That I just let him take my place like some damn coward? He wouldn't listen to me! He thought that the only way we would win was if I was here to help lead all of you people so he just went!" Thor regretted insinuating that Tony didn't try to stop Loki and therefore, didn't care, almost immediately. Tony began talking more to himself. "Mocks all of us for doing the sacrifice play and what does he do? He does the God damn sacrifice play!"

Pepper, who had not let his side since they were reunited, stroked his arm and tried to calm him down. It didn't work. "Tony, it's going to be ok-"

"No! It's not! It's not going to be okay!"

The silence following Tony's outburst was almost deafening. Clearly everyone was feeling something similar to what Thor felt. And he knew that. These people were Loki's friends after all. He just…he had been rash and stupid.

Nebula was the one to break the new silence. She said in a soft voice barely above a whisper, "If Thanos figures out that it is all an illusion, then…" She stopped talking. She didn't have to finish her thought, though. Thor knew what she meant. It was on his mind the second he found out that Loki had gone with Thanos. It was on everyone's minds. She was just the first one to voice it out loud.

If Thanos figured out it was all an illusion, he's most defiantly try and kill Loki.

Quill suddenly stood up, determined. "Then we go after him. Rescue him."

Several people nodded their heads but there were also several people who tiredly shook their heads instead. Scott took a breath and stepped forward. "Look, I can't speak for everyone but I know that after all of this, I need a breather."

"Yeah, me too," Valkyrie muttered. She looked directly at Thor, sympathy in her brown eyes. "And it wouldn't be wise to go in guns blazing when Thanos just beat us all senseless."

"Wouldn't it be a fair fight now?" Peter asked, looking around at their group. "I mean, he doesn't have any of the stones right?"

This was true. They now had five stones and Loki had the last. Surely, Thanos had to be less of a threat than before. Gamora brushed her hair from her face and kept a protective arm around her distraught sister. "He was the most powerful being in the universe before he had the Gauntlet."

"Yeah," Bruce said miserably. "He already was unstoppable."

Thor shook his head. No, no, no. They needed to go now and get him back now. "I do not care. I am getting my brother back."

Bruce walked up to him and sighed, "Thor, we will get Loki back, but we need to be clearheaded about this." Thor eyed the weary looking man and then glanced around at the group of heroes. Almost all of them had a close call today. Too close a call. He himself almost died like three times and the back of his head was still covered with dry blood from when Thanos captured him. He'd be no help to Loki if it turned out he had a concussion and he passed out in the middle of a fight.

"Guys." Everyone turned to Bucky's voice. He and Sam had not left Steve since they ran over to him. Steve was still unconscious and the metal armed man found it hard to form his words. "Guys…he's…Steve's…"

"He's hurt pretty bad," Sam finished.

Shuri left her brother's hug to go to them, but T'Challa was close behind. She knelt down by Steve's head and checked his pulse. The front of the soldier's uniform was stained with blood. "Oh dear…" She popped off a few of the beads from her bracelet and stuck them to his wounds. They lit up once in contact with his skin. "It will stabilize him," she told Bucky and Sam, "but we need to get him back to my lab."

T'Challa nodded and looked back to the group. "Then we go back to Wakanda. Yes?"

It took Thor a second to realize that T'Challa was looking directly at him, waiting for his answer. He let out a deep breath and unclenched his fists. The thunder clouds started to calm down, so did his rage. But that just meant all the other emotions would drown him. "Fine," he muttered, almost inaudible. But Bruce was close enough to hear and he nodded his head like he made the right decision.

It didn't feel like the right decision.

Tony crossed his arms, pointed a hard stare at Strange, and said rather harshly, "Sure, I'm game. How 'bout you Strange? Got any reason we shouldn't go?"

Strange ignored him and instead turned to open up a portal that would lead them out of this damn city.


	23. Chapter Nineteen

_Author's Note: Forgot to mention in my Greetings and Preview chapter that we've reached a milestone! Five hundred reviews! 500 reviews! Thank you for the 500 reviews and counting that you have given me! It is so gratifying to have all of this positive feedback! Thank you!_

 _Nuff said. Let's get to the story._

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 _Chapter Nineteen: Living with their Own Failures_

Tony's idea was insanity, he knew that going in. But Pepper's life had been on the line, what other choice did he have but to bargain with Thanos? He would hand himself over in a heartbeat to save her and the rest of the team. And begrudgedly, he would hand over the Time and Mind Stones too. Or in this case, just the Mind Stone on account of Strange held the Time Stone close to him like his life depended on it.

He had been angry at Strange in that moment. Angry at his secretive nature and his unreadable expressions. And with the fact that the good doctor had given the Time Stone away only a few days ago and now he was all determined to keep it from Thanos's grasp. Just when he thought he could pin the guy down, he did something that completely changed his M.O.

Guess that was just the mystery that was Strange.

Tony was going to do it. He was going to step out from behind their hiding spot at the base of the Arch and hand himself and the beautiful yellow stone in his hand over. But then Loki grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. "You are not going out there. Okay?"

Tony was touched by the trickster God's attempt to change his mind. It was nice to know that people cared. But he still shook his head rapidly. "I cannot wait any longer. We need to act now or they all are going to die." He knew that his desperation was starting to shine through and he was hoping that maybe Loki would find a way to understand that this was just something that had to be done.

Loki nodded and tried his best to be comforting, "I know." But what he was thinking was clearly written all over his face: under no circumstance was he going to let Tony go out there.

Again, Tony was touched. And again, he didn't have time for this. He would trade his life for his team, his family, without question. And he was the one Thanos was expecting. He had to be the one to do this. It was simple really. He would put Loki's mind at ease that it was okay, then he would hand himself and the Mind Stone over to Thanos, and pray that the stupid grape accepted his bargain to call off his army.

Tony was going to do this. Seconds away from telling Loki it was okay and that he shouldn't worry about him, when he looked up and saw that Loki's expression had dropped. It was like he was scared and yet determined. Like he just thought of the most wonderfully crazy and horrible plan in existence. Tony didn't like this at all. Was this how he looked when he thought up one his harebrained schemes? "Loki?" he asked, his concern dripping through the one word.

Loki didn't say anything for a moment, thinking quietly to himself. Then he glanced at Tony and murmured, "I-I…I have a plan." Tony watched as he took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and then begin to explain what was on his mind. "We fought hard to get these two Stones and you were right, stealing back the Stones is the only way to bring all of those trapped souls back. We cannot give them up. And we cannot lose you either. You are too important, you keep this team together. But I'm…"

Tony blinked. "Loki, what are you saying?" He had a bad feeling wash over him.

Loki hesitated for a second, before deciding to continue on. "I could make myself look and sound like you and create the illusion that I have the Stones. I could negotiate with him to leave and spare the others-"

Tony started shaking his head and that bad feeling had turned to full-blown dread. "No."

"Let me finish-"

"No!" he said more firmly. "Loki, I am not going to let you walk into that monster's clutches again."

Loki sighed, his exhaustion from the battle and from the gravity of what he was suggesting to do suddenly weighing heavily on him. "It's not your decision to make, Tony. The entire universe needs the Avengers. And they will succeed, I know that now. But they cannot win this without their leaders. The Avengers need you."

Tony wanted to smack his forehead with his hand. "No, you idiot, we need _you_."

It was Loki's turn to appear touched. "That means a lot to me, hearing you say that. But my mind is made up." Tony's mind was racing. He had to stop him from doing this. He _would_ stop him from doing this. He would find a way to stop him. He just had to. He was kidding himself. What was he going to do? He was just a man in a can. Well, a broken can. The pieces of his armor still needed fixing. The point was, what the hell was he going to do that was going to stop a literal God who also just happened to have magic? Oh, that's right, nothing. Loki let out a shaky breath, met Tony's eyes, and half smiled. "Whatever it takes, right? Just, tell my brother…Nebula…everyone actually, thank you. For everything. And that the sun will shine on all of us again."

Loki was afraid.

As much as he tried to hide it, it was so obvious.

That very fact made Tony feel worse about this whole thing.

"Loki," Strange started in a quiet voice. Tony and Loki both faced him, and jeez, the guy looked terrible. Tony figured they all must have looked lousy. Himself with this dread and pang of anxiety that Loki was really going to take his place, Loki with his fear, and now Strange with his not at all hidden guilt. "Might I suggest that you save some of your strength? Imagine what you could do with the combined power of your traditional magic and a certain reality bending stone."

Loki half smiled again. "Doctor, you may be overly secretive but you have some inspired ideas."

Strange shook his head. "I did not come up with it. Well, actually I did, but I only knew it because I saw it."

And there was Strange again talking in riddles. Did the magic man think life was a giant puzzle for everyone else to solve? Loki didn't waste any time on focusing on Strange's by now usual strangeness. He instead focused on what had to be done. With a flick of the wrist, green sparks of magic came from his fingers and then with another flick of the wrist, he conjured up the Reality Stone. Tony peered out at Thanos. The Titan guy hadn't reacted and when he slightly turned…Tony could see the Gauntlet and it looked like the ruby red gem was still in its place. Meaning, Loki had created a simple illusion so that Thanos would think that he still has the Reality Stone. When in reality, Loki had the stone.

Loki eyed the stone for a second and then closed his eyes to concentrate. At first nothing happened, but then again Tony wasn't really sure he knew what was supposed to happen. And then…a dim red light materialized over both of Loki's hands and it swirled around until it took shape creating something. Two somethings. When the red light vanished Loki was no longer holding the Reality Stone. He was holding the Mind Stone in one hand and Strange's necklace in the other.

But of course he wasn't really holding the two Infinity Stones. He just bended reality to appear like he was.

Chuckling to himself, Loki looked over the objects now in his hands. "Well, that's three…" Then the smile left him and he became determined, serious. Not exactly what you expect from a guy titled, "The God of Mischief". But Loki was more than just some silly Norse mythology title, wasn't he? He was an Avenger. Clearly. And because of that fact, Tony felt more powerless. Because _he_ was supposed to protect the Avengers…Not stand idly by and watch as one of them gave themselves over to murdering megalomaniacs. "Wish me luck."

Tony tried one last attempt. "Loki, please-"

Too late.

Loki twisted his hands again and his green magic went over him, from head to toe. And then Tony wasn't looking at Loki. He was looking at himself. Under different circumstances, it would have been pretty cool to see Loki impersonate him. It'd be kind of funny. Tony wasn't laughing now. "Sorry," Loki said, but in Tony's voice, "bit busy. Trying to do my best impression of you. Yo, grape man." Then much to Tony's horror, he left their hiding spot, and began to negotiate with Thanos.

The only thing stopping him from shouting out that Loki get back here was his own shock that this was really happening. It was like the words were caught in his throat and all he could do was listen to Loki pretend to be him.

And the only thing stopping him from running after him, from stopping Loki from doing this, was Strange's firm grip on his shoulder.

Loki could handle himself.

He was pretty damn powerful and he could be pretty cunning when he wanted to be. Hell, he wielded three of the most powerful objects in the universe.

Tony had faith in him. But he knew how powerful and how cunning Thanos was too. And if Thanos found out that Loki had tricked him into calling off his army, into retreating, into releasing the fifteen then… Thanos would…

There was nothing in the world Tony could do. And dammit, did it make him feel like he wanted to scream.

…

Loki was with Thanos.

Loki was with…his brother was with that bloodthirsty bastard. He…no. No. It couldn't…but it was and…

Ever since Thor found out that Loki had been the one to go with Thanos, dark thunder clouds had not stopped rolling in. Thunder was booming in the distance and lightning was dancing on the edges of the scary looking clouds. Tony and Strange had quietly explained what had happened. How Loki had used the Reality Stone and his own magic to create his best illusion yet.

The revelation shocked everyone to their cores.

It was silent for almost a minute. Nobody wanted to say a word, nobody could say a word. The only sounds that could be heard was the storm clouds, a heavy breeze that had picked up with the clouds, and the distant noise of police sirens.

Thor didn't pay attention to any of it and he only could think about one thing: Loki. Why would he do it? Hand himself over to Thanos? The answer was obvious and if his brother was here right now he could just image what he would say. Something on the lines of, _"To save you and the others, you witless oaf."_ But his brother wasn't here right now, he was with that torturing murderer.

Oh, God…please don't let this be real. Please let this all just be a fantasy.

It wasn't.

Thor's hands clenched into tight fists. He felt a full range of emotions, fear, regret, guilt, sorrow, and anger. The anger welled up inside of him more than anything else and he just wanted to hurt who was responsible for this. Thanos was gone, so that wasn't going to happen. But it was still there, this overpowering need to scream and hit. Once upon a time, he was known for flipping over large banquet tables in the dining halls of Asgard when he was upset. Handling his emotions weren't his strong suit and on top of that he just wanted to be able to blame someone.

And he knew that it wasn't _their_ faults but…

He suddenly looked to Tony and Strange and shouted, "How could you let him go?!"

Some of the Avengers and the Guardians flinched at his sudden outburst, but not Strange. He just glanced at the ground and remained quiet. Tony on the other hand… "Is that what you think?" Tony asked, his voice loud and his tone defensive. "That I just let him take my place like some damn coward? He wouldn't listen to me! He thought that the only way we would win was if I was here to help lead all of you people so he just went!" Thor regretted insinuating that Tony didn't try to stop Loki and therefore, didn't care, almost immediately. Tony began talking more to himself. "Mocks all of us for doing the sacrifice play and what does he do? He does the God damn sacrifice play!"

Pepper, who had not left his side since they were reunited, stroked his arm and tried to calm him down. It didn't work. "Tony, it's going to be ok-"

"No! It's not! It's not going to be okay!"

The silence following Tony's outburst was almost deafening. Clearly everyone was feeling something similar to what Thor felt. And he knew that. These people were Loki's friends after all. He just…he had been rash and stupid.

Nebula was the one to break the new silence. She said in a soft voice barely above a whisper, "If Thanos figures out that it is all an illusion, then…" She stopped talking. She didn't have to finish her thought, though. Thor knew what she meant. It was on his mind the second he found out that Loki had gone with Thanos. It was on everyone's minds. She was just the first one to voice it out loud.

If Thanos figured out it was all an illusion, he'd most defiantly try and kill Loki.

Quill suddenly stood up, determined. "Then we go after him. Rescue him."

Several people nodded their heads. There were a few who didn't. Then Scott took a breath, rubbed the sides of his head, and stepped forward. "Look, I…I want to go and get him back too but… _God_ , I need a breather."

Thor just stared at the man. A breather? They did not have time to have a bloody breather! His brother was with his former torturer. Did Lang not understand that?

"Yeah, me too," Valkyrie suddenly muttered. Thor spun to look at her. Had everyone lost their minds? She was already looking directly at him, sympathy in her brown eyes. "And it wouldn't be wise to go in guns blazing when Thanos just beat us all senseless."

"Wouldn't it be a fair fight now?" Peter asked, looking around at their group. "I mean, he doesn't have any of the stones right?"

This was true. They now had five stones and Loki had the last. Surely, Thanos had to be less of a threat than before. Gamora brushed her hair from her face and kept a protective arm around her distraught sister. "He was the most powerful being in the universe before he had the Gauntlet."

"Yeah," Bruce said miserably. "He already was unstoppable."

Thor shook his head. He could see where this was going and he couldn't believe it. "No, no, no. We are not postponing this. We need to go _now_ and get my brother back _now_."

Bruce walked up to him avoiding eye contact. He fidgeted for a second, looking like he was regretting what he was about to say, and then he finally said, "Thor, we will get Loki back. I promise you that. But we need to be clearheaded about this. We…Fifteen of us almost died, yourself included. Everyone has been beaten and bloodied up. We are of no help to Loki if we over exert ourselves."

Thor eyed the weary looking man. Was it his imagination or did Bruce have a few more gray hairs then he had before the battle? It wouldn't have surprised him if he did. He himself felt like he had aged several decades in the last few hours.

"Guys." Everyone turned to the sound of Bucky's voice. He and Sam had not left Steve's side since they ran over to him. Steve was still unconscious and the metal armed man found it hard to form his words. "Guys…he's…Steve's…"

"He's hurt pretty bad," Sam finished.

Shuri left her brother's hug to go to them, but T'Challa was close behind her. She knelt down by Steve's head and checked his pulse. The front of the soldier's uniform was stained with blood. "Oh dear…" She popped off a few of the beads from her bracelet and stuck them to his wounds. They lit up once in contact with his skin. "It will stabilize him," she told Bucky and Sam, "but we need to get him back to my lab."

T'Challa let out a small sigh. He turned back the group. "Then we must go back to Wakanda." He didn't look or sound happy about this decision.

Thor certainly wasn't happy about this decision. But…Steve was severally injured. He needed medical help now. He half-heartedly glanced around the group of superheroes. Bruce had been right, they had been beaten and bloodied up. Almost everyone had some sort of cut or bruise on their face or head. He knew that there was still some dry blood on the back of his own head and that more than likely he had a concession.

They needed to take care of their injuries. No one wanted to, that much was clear now based one everyone's guilt ridden faces, but they had no choice.

Thor barely nodded his head and said a very inaudible, "Fine. We'll go."

This did not feel like the right decision. All Thor could do was pray that Loki was okay and that if he wasn't, he would forgive them for not coming for him right away.

Tony crossed his arms, pointed a hard stare at Strange, and said rather harshly, "Sure, I'm game. How 'bout you Strange? Got any reason we shouldn't go?"

Strange ignored him and instead turned to open up a portal that would lead them out of this damn city.

…

Time was an illusion, a perceptive. It was subjective. To one person time might go fast, not so much for another person. But Clint figured that everyone was feeling this sudden shift in time that he was feeling. Everything just slowed down.

To an almost maddening pace.

Don't get him wrong, there had been this urgency to get Steve to Wakanda and get him patched up. The soldier had a concussion, a few fractured ribs, a broken wrist, and several bleeding cuts that seemed worse than what they really were. Upon reentering the African nation, T'Challa's right-hand woman, Okoye, and his and Shuri's mother, Ramonda, came running up to them. The two women were both overjoyed to see the king and the princess alive and well. It wasn't too long after that when everyone else came running. Friends and families back together. It was a brief reunion. It was certainly nothing like what they experienced the day before when the search party returned from the Soul World.

God. Damn.

That was only yesterday.

The tired pack of heroes told the others what had happened in St. Louis. How they had their asses handed to them by Thanos and his gang of goons. How the remaining fifteen had been captured. How Loki had…well…

Their first concern was of course Steve. They got him onto a floating gurney and Shuri took point in getting him back to her lab. T'Challa, Ramonda, and Okoye were following the princess, not wanting to be separated again. Sam and Bucky were close behind them, looking worried sick about their friend.

Steve was a fighter. A stubborn one at that. He would be fine, Clint was sure of that.

If only he could be as sure of a certain mischief maker's fate as he was of Steve's.

With the feeling of urgency deflated, it left everyone else just standing in a big room, staring at each other. No one could speak for a few long seconds and Clint couldn't speak for everyone but the exhaustion was starting to settle down on him. He had been going non-stop for far too long. As much as he wished he could just down a cup of coffee and then move straight to the next mission, the next step, he couldn't.

He sat himself down on some loveseat, couch thing, feeling about every muscle in his body ache in the process. Laura and his children were soon next to him. A few others, like Scott, his daughter, Hope, their talkative friend, and Peter Parker and his two friends, took his example.

Soon after, Strange walked to a table that was near the middle of the room, placed the three stones he had been carrying on the table as well as his clunky necklace that housed the green Infinity Stone, and then promptly left the room. Apparently he wanted to be left alone with his very obvious guilt. The only person who made a move to go after him was his girlfriend, Christine Palmer, but she stopped herself from continuing and stayed with the group.

Clint wearily eyed the stones. They were breathtaking, nobody could argue with that. And completely unlimited in their destructive power. They could rip families apart, mow down entire worlds, ruin lives, cause idiots looking for redemption to play the sacrifice card. He hated these rainbow gems almost as much as he hated the monster who wielded them in the first place. Tony was eyeing the stones in the same way Clint was and eventually he slowly made his way to the table and set down the Mind Stone that he had been carrying. Clint was pretty sure he hated this stone the most.

Tony let out a long tired sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Alright," he said addressing the group, "T'Challa or Shuri or someone is going to come in soon with some of those healing beads. Anyone who wants to be fixed up stays here. And I'm only gonna say this once: Rest up, unwind, sleep for a few hours, and _do not_ screw around. 'Cause tomorrow morning, 6 o'clock sharp, regardless of people's feelings of being tired, we are going to go and get Loki back."

He turned on his heels, heading towards the door. "And where are you going?" Rhodey called out to him.

Tony replied, "I'm not tired."

"Really?" Happy asked, sounding unconvinced.

" _Really_ ," Tony snapped.

"Tony," at the sound of Pepper's voice, Tony halted and glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe you should stay here and see about your own wounds."

"I'll survive," he mumbled. Pepper gave him a worrying look that Tony tried to ignore. "Look, I…I am going to spend the next few hours that I'm stuck here looking at trying to understand these damn stones."

Stuck here.

Yeah…it did feel like they were stuck here, didn't it?

If Clint could wish for superpowers, like actual superpowers, it would be for increased stamina. That way he could keep going, not have to stop from the sheer exhaustion all the time.

Hope suddenly spoke up. "We could see if our Gauntlet is ready."

That was right. When the search party was in the Soul World, the others had been trying to stop the world from collapsing into itself but also looking into a way to save those trapped in the Soul Stone. The solution? Steal back the stones and put them in their own human sized Gauntlet made by some dwarf that Thor knew.

"And if it is, what do we do with it?" Jane asked. "Put the stones we have in it?"

"No," Bruce said quickly. He gained many confused looks. He fidgeted with his hands and sort of shrugged. "I mean, yes, eventually, but with this time," he looked to Tony, "we should think about Vision."

Tony had a look of realization on his face, which, good for him, but no one else knew what the hell Bruce was talking about. Wanda instantly turned to the scientist, her brown eyes wide. "What?"

"The systems in Vision," Bruce started, "they're still working." Wait did that mean…? "We figured that-"

"Well," Tony interrupted, "Loki figured."

Bruce tiredly nodded his head. "Yeah. He figured that if we put the Mind Stone back in Vision's head and had Thor give him a jolt of his lightning…"

Wanda stood perfectly still, absorbing all of this before she finally asked, "Vis can be brought back?"

Bruce nodded again. "Theoretically, yeah."

This little bit of information seemed to shock Wanda to her very core. She let out a gasp and took several steps backwards. To be fair, this was a bit of shock. A happy shock. A lot of times when a person died there was no second chance for them. The living had to mourn their loss and the dead had their peace. But Vision was part machine. The laws that affected human beings did not necessarily affect him in the same way. It made sense. Perfect sense that what brought him to be in the first place could resurrect him.

Leave it to Loki to be the first one to figure this out.

Wanda stammered, "W-Wh-how…t-then what are we waiting for? Let's go." There was a new sound of hope, of determination in her voice. After a day like today, hope and determination was sorely needed.

But Clint couldn't help but feel a bit protective of the girl. He apparently wasn't the only one. Tony rubbed the back of his neck and finally came completely back into the room. "Listen, Wanda, we are pretty sure this is going to work but on the off chance it doesn't, are you sure you want to-?"

Wanda didn't let him finish. Her words were filled with her unique fierceness. " _I am_ going to be there. _I'm_ going to be there when he wakes up." Tony waited a few seconds before nodding that yes, she was going to sit by as he and Bruce attempted to bring back her dead boyfriend.

Bruce glanced to Thor, who looked horrible by the way. Clint remembered how Loki had just shut down when Thanos had captured his brother. This was like some sort of eerie repeat but with the brothers flipped flopped in their role as the captured one and the depressed one. Bruce said, "Thor, we'll probably need you on standby." Thor didn't say a word. Maybe he hadn't even heard him. "Thor?"

"I heard you," Thor whispered and before anyone else could do anything he stalked out of the room. He didn't even wait for Wanda, Tony, or Bruce. Tony let out a deep sigh and quickly went after him. Wanda was soon close behind them.

Bruce went to the table and picked up the Mind Stone. Clint felt himself shiver at the sight of it. The stupid thing responsible for scrambling his brain to be a mindless, obedient minion. He could have sworn he saw Scott do something similar. The man might not have been mind controlled but Thanos had done something to him in St. Louis. Something that caused him to scream out such a horrible sounding scream.

"You'll have to get them some of those beads too," Natasha called to Bruce.

"I will," Bruce promised with a slight nod and then off he went to go with the others.

It seemed like forever before a couple of Wakandan healers finally came in. They went around the room sticking beads to everyone's injuries, turning them on with a wave of their hands, letting them glow and heal them up. The technology was far beyond anything Clint had ever seem. He had been injured before the whole Ultron thing happened and Dr. Helen Cho had healed him using some sort of cell regeneration machine. That had been amazing but these vibrainum beads could do what Cho's machine did in half the time. His burnt hand from his encounter with Thane looked perfect. It was almost like magic. After a while and after everyone was free of cuts, burns, and bruises, the healers left them. And so did a few others, claiming they needed to unwind or clear their heads. Some, like Nebula, didn't say a word as they left. The Guardians, along with Quill's grandfather, decided to go to their own room wanting a little privacy. Of course, Quill would want to catch up with his grandfather. A few people who stayed fell asleep, like Scott and Darcy. Hope and Natasha both seemed eager to move, so it wasn't a complete shock when Hope got up and left to walk around, and when Nat got up and said she was going to check in on Steve and then Bruce.

That left Clint, his family, Peter, his two friends, Pepper, Happy, Wong, Christine, Scott, his friend, his daughter, and the sleeping Darcy. Everyone else had left. This was a strange difference than before. After the whack-jobs Thane and Super Giant had shown up saying that doomsday was coming, everyone just seemed to latch onto each other, not wanting to leave. And sure, Clint had left to be with his family but still… Now, they were separated.

Scott suddenly woke up with a start, looking around the room surprised. "You okay, man?" Luis asked, equally surprised that his friend had awoke in such a state.

Scott quickly turned to him. "What? Ah…yeah. Good. Just-good…" The man seemed to have troubles catching his bearing for a while but when he did finally catch them, he noticed Hope was gone. "Where'd Hope go?"

"She and a few others went to think on their own," his daughter, Cassie, told him.

Scott nodded his head and then pressed his fingers into his temples. "I think I need some air and I need to think too…Peanut, do you mind?" Cassie shook her head no. "Luis, will you watch after her?"

"Sure thing, my man," Luis said with a half-smile and with that Scott left too. There was something weird about the little encounter. Scott had something on his mind, he probably was as traumatized as everyone else was from the Battle of St. Louis. Then why not just say that? Was he trying to save face because he wanted to be strong for his daughter? And what about his waking with a start? Clint was probably just reading too much into this. You could destroy the agency he had worked at for years but you could never fully take the S.H.I.E.L.D agent out of him.

He turned from Luis and Cassie when he heard Peter's friends trying to cheer him up. "Don't worry about the master of the mystic arts," M.J. said, attempting to sound like her causal, disinterested self. It seemed hard for her to do given Peter's tired, sad expression. "If he has one of these Infinity Stones, then at least he has some sort of weapon against the giant."

Ned nodded in agreement and patted his friend's arm. "Exactly, Peter."

"Yeah," Peter whispered, staring at the floor. "I know."

Clint felt for the kid. At the end of the day, despite how much he would argue it, he was just a kid. A kid who should not have seen the horrors of a war, let alone know what it was like to lose a close friend. A borderline mentor. But still, Peter Parker was not your average kid. He was smart and capable. A little quippy and zany at times, but hell, practically everyone Clint knew was. He'd be okay once this was all said and done. He could probably get through all of these "adult" stresses and responsibilities, and live a semi-normal life as a superhero.

Clint was pulled from his thoughts when Lila tapped on his knee and asked, "Do you think the nice wizard will be okay, daddy?" She asked with such genuine hopefulness that it took Clint aback. He always told his kids the honest truth because he wanted them to know about the real world. He would sugar coat things some times, sure, but he always told them the truth.

But the truth was…this didn't look good for Loki.

Clint smiled a tight, tired smile. "Of course. Loki, he's a resourceful guy. Always thinking on his toes."

"Really?" Lila said, a happy spark filling her eye.

All Clint could do was nod his head, like he believed it one hundred percent. While his daughter was convinced, Laura could see through him and see his uncertainty. Laura ran her fingers through Lila's brown locks and told her, "Lila, why don't you and Cooper go and play with Cassie. She looks a little lonely over there."

Lila's already happy look just intensified. She nodded her head like one of those bobble heads. Copper nodded too, getting up from the couch. "Okay. C'mon." Clint watched his two eldest run over to Cassie, who was still being watched by Luis.

His forced smile was falling more and more the farther they got away.

Laura held the sleeping Nathanial closer to her, waiting for Lila and Cooper to get out of earshot. Once, they were she whispered to him, "Seriously, what do you think?"

Clint shook his head. "I don't know. It could go either way honestly… I made things right. I said sorry and everything was good. I said that he was an official Avenger. And like a true Avenger, he tries to get himself killed two minutes later."

Laura grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "There was nothing you could have done to stop him."

"Oh, I know," he said, massaging his temples with his free hand. "But that still doesn't stop me from feeling guilty… If I had just trusted him from the beginning…" He trailed off, not knowing how to continue. Because he couldn't go back in time and slap some sense into himself. And even if he could, he wasn't sure if it would have made any lick of difference.

It didn't matter anyways, because two seconds later Natasha came back into the room. She looked like he felt, like she was so tired that she could sleep for several days.

"Nat," Laura greeted, softly.

His partner in crime fighting seemed lost inside her own head for a second. That wasn't a good sign. Natasha was almost always acutely aware of her surroundings and was a few steps ahead of everyone. Well, when you're an assassin with trust issues, what else could you expect? He had seen her during the few times where she was pushed out of her comfort zone. Those few times where she was quiet and thinking deeply of something far more important than her surroundings. She snapped herself out of this state real quick. "Hey. Where's Scott? I thought he was asleep."

"He was," Luis told her. "But then Scottie woke up with a start and was all like, I got to go get some air and think. He turned to me and said, watch out for Cassie and I said, sure thing my man."

Wong stared at Luis with the most unamused look ever. "Why must you answer questions in the longest ways possible?"

Christine softly hit Wong's arm and said, "Be nice."

Natasha made her way to Clint and Laura. Once she sat down next to Clint, Laura asked, "How's Bruce?"

Nat muttered, "Taking it hard." She looked like she was taking all of this hard.

"He didn't want to-?" Clint stared to ask but Nat was quick to cut him off.

"He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to focus on his work."

Clint nodded. "Steve?"

"Stable."

"Good. That's good."

"Yeah…yeah."

Clint reached his free hand over to Natasha and took her hand. She didn't say anything, didn't even glance over, she just squeezed his hand. Clint tried to relax a little or be comforted by the fact that his best friend, his wife, and his kids were close by and more importantly safe. But he couldn't help but see Happy and Pepper off by themselves looking concerned about Tony, and Wong and Christine looking concerned about Doc Strange. Peter and his teenage friends looked exhausted and even though Cooper, Lila, and Cassie all were attempting to have fun listening to Luis tell some crazy story of how met a ghost woman who could phase through walls, all three children were clearly worried. Clint would rest but he wasn't even going to try and relax or be comforted.

There was no point.

Not until the mission was finished.

…

Rhodey considered himself a simple man. A man who did not question things like authority or fate. Oh, he wondered about it though. Wondered if those in command had the people's best interests, wondered if fate was as set in stone as it was made out to be. But he wasn't like Tony or Steve or his other superhero friends who seemed to defy everyone and everything. He defied orders only twice in his life, and one of those times was only a few days ago.

Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, the big dumbass, had wanted Steve, Nat, and the others arrested on the spot when they entered the Avengers compound. Rhodey wasn't going to arrest them. He couldn't. It felt so…wrong.

So, he ended his call with Ross instead. That was a court martial. His first one. Well, who knew? Defying authority could be the right thing to do. And to think, all these years he thought Tony did it just for the sheer hell of it. He questioned authority now…cool. But fate, that was a completely separate entity, wasn't it?

It felt different.

It felt like something you couldn't control, like the breeze. It just sort of happened and you dealt with it as if affected your life. But now… after seeing his friends become so distraught over Loki's capture, and he was upset too, he had to wonder about fate now. This seemed wrong. So wrong. There was no way that something like this was fated to happen. At least that's what he hoped.

He had needed fresh air, so he decided to walk the streets of Wakanda. It felt like this was the first time he was truly taking in the African city and its wonders. He wasn't even sure how long he was walking for or how far he was going until he saw the golden colored fields. He stopped when he reached them, standing with his arms crossed just looking out at them. The first battle of this war had happened here, not too many days ago. Then the Asgardian refugees landed their pods in the fields and then this was where the search party had left for and returned from the Soul World.

The fields were burnt in some areas, stained in others with the blood of fallen Wakandan warriors and those bastard aliens. The Asgardian pods were all still scattered throughout the fields and-wait a minute… Rhodey squinted his eyes to try and see if he really was seeing what he was seeing. And it turned out he was. Nebula, the scary blue chick, was climbing onboard one of the abandoned pods.

He wasn't sure why he was running over, but he was. When he finally reached the pod she was in, he saw a pile of supplies laying on the ground next to the boarding ramp. It didn't take him long to figure out that she was planning to leave. "Mind if I ask you what you're doing?" he asked.

Nebula started at the sound of his voice, but when she turned to look at him there were no signs of being startled in her expression. Only that death glare she was so good at. "I am not waiting around any longer."

"Oh. I see." Rhodey crossed his arms and stepped out of her way when she came down the ramp to grab up her supplies. "You were just going to steal one of these pods and go on a suicide rescue by yourself."

"I know what I am doing," she snapped, going back up the ramp.

"Sure. Where will you go?"

"I will have to think like my father to know where he would go."

"Okay. And when you get to wherever you are going, with absolutely no backup, how were you planning on saving Loki?"

Nebula suddenly threw all of her supplies to the ground and stomped back down the ramp. Well, Rhodey must have pissed her off. This was confirmed when she started yelling at him. "You have no idea what Loki went through on Thanos's ship! The daily torture, for months! I saw what he went through and I did nothing to help him! I was trapped in Thanos's web of insanity. My only concern was staying alive, but things have changed. I'm free of that monster and I will not stand idly by and let my closest friend be put through any more pain."

Rhodey was silent, listening to her shout with such rage, with such guilt. Behind all of it was a very passionate need to get Loki back. Rhodey tried again. "I understand…but you didn't answer my question." Nebula opened her mouth but nothing came out. Her determination and guilt was fueling her to leave but she very clearly did not have a plan to rescue Loki. Rhodey sighed, "Look, about ten years ago, and I can't believe it's been that long, Tony was in an accident and he was kidnapped. I headed the search party but as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, everyone started to lose hope. But I kept believing that he was too stubborn to die somewhere in the desert. Not Tony's style to die quietly. I kept having search planes look for him and one day, after six months, we found him. My point is, I didn't give up on him and I trusted my team to find him. Even when I wanted to go out on my own, I knew I shouldn't because possibly getting myself captured or killed would not help Tony and it would probably create another problem. I understand that you want to go now, but it will be better to go with backup."

Nebula seemed to understand but her eyes shined with something else. Distress? Sorrow? Something like that. She shook her head and lowered her head. "I thought I lost him once…I just want him back…" It was Rhodey's turn to lower his head at the longing in her voice. She wasn't the only one who wanted him back. Rhodey wanted the trickster God back too, if only to get everyone out of this cloud of depression they were stuck in. It seemed more personal for Nebula though, she and Loki were best friends after all. He glanced up at her and really looked at her for the first time. Her skin was either blue or grafted metal and Rhodey had to wonder what kind of pain she had been through to receive her metal, machine based parts. Nebula caught him staring at her and shrunk away from his gaze. "I wasn't always like this," she told him.

"Me either." He motioned to the braces that allowed him to walk. "We just take what we get, right?" Nebula slowly nodded her head. Maybe fate was unchangeable and that's all they could do. Just take it and hopefully, try to move on.

…

Peter Quill had been the one to suggest that his grandfather and the Guardians go to another room after the Wakandan guys with the magic healing bracelets came to fix everyone up. Honestly he just wanted some privacy to catch up with his grandpa. It had been over thirty years since he had last seen him and he had a feelings that their reunion would actually be a cheery one. That fact was part of the reason he thought they should leave.

The Avengers were in such a depressed state that it felt wrong to have a cheery reunion in front of them. But he didn't just want to abandon his own team either, which is why he invited them to come along. Peter sat with his grandpa on a couch. Mantis sat cross legged on the floor looking up at Drax and Groot who were sitting in some chairs. They appeared to be having their own little conversation. Gamora stayed standing near the group but she looked eager to leave. She probably just wanted to go find Nebula, 'cause the blue lady was one of the first to leave the main group and who even knew where she disappeared to. And then there was Rocket. He literally just stayed by the doorway acting all anti-social.

"By the way," Peter said, "this is not at all how I thought we would meet again."

His grandpa smiled a little. "Me neither. In fact, I figured you were…well, long gone."

Peter felt a twinge of guilt for that. "I'm sorry."

"Jesus, Quill," Rocket snapped, rubbing his forehead in a tired matter. "All you've been doing for the past half hour is apologizin'. Stop it!" It had not gone unnoticed that ever since they got back to Wakanda that Rocket had been acting like an asshole. Not that he didn't act like an asshole before, it was just…worse than usual. Peter figured he knew why.

"The raccoon is right, Peter," his grandpa said with a soft, knowing look. "It's okay. To learn that you are alive after all of these years and not just alive, but a hero…happiest and proudest moment of my life."

Peter smiled a little at that. "Thanks…um, well, I've been so concerned with apologizing that-"

"Which has been annoyin' as hell," Rocket interrupted.

Peter chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying not to snap back. That wouldn't help anything. "Yeah, I got that." He turned back to his grandfather and said, "I never got to introduce you to my team."

"Okay," his grandpa said with a nod.

"Guys." He got everyone's attentions and motioned for them to get closer. They all did, except for Rocket. "This is Drax the Destroyer," he said pointing to Drax, "but don't let his name scare you off. He's a big softie."

Drax looked confused and ran his hand over his left arm. "I do not feel that soft."

Peter suppressed the urge to yell that it was only a metaphor and instead pointed to Mantis. "This is Mantis."

"Hi," Mantis said softly. She took his grandpa's hand in her own to shake it and her antenna lit up. She smiled for the first time since they got back. "You really are so proud of your grandson!"

His grandpa looked at the girl with a curious expression. "She feels emotions when she touches people," Peter explained. "It's a whole thing."

His grandpa nodded. "I see. Nice to meet you dear."

Groot waved at the gray haired man. "I am Groot." His grandpa nodded again.

Peter told him, "FYI, Groot only ever says those three words so if you wanna talk to him, you'll need one of us to play as interpreter." He looked to Gamora, still seeming like she was anxious to leave, and said, "This is Gamora. My girlfriend."

"Oh!" his grandpa exclaimed a bit excitedly.

"Mr. Quill," Gamora said, forcing a smile, "it is so nice to finally meet you. Peter has told me a lot about you."

"He never mentioned anything to any of us," Drax said.

Peter scoffed, "Yeah, well, I'm not dating any of you guys."

Mantis finally let go of his grandpa's hand so that he could shake Gamora's. "Gamora," he repeated. "Lovely name."

"Thank you," Gamora said, a genuine smile pulling at her lips.

Peter couldn't help but smile a little himself all things considered. The family he had made for himself was meeting part of the family he had left behind. And they were getting along! After all of the problems with Ego, the Ravagers, and Thanos, he honestly thought he was just destined to have family slash in-law troubles. Speaking of trouble, he still had to introduce one more member of the Guardians. "And that irritable raccoon is Rocket."

"Hello," his grandpa said.

"Hi," Rocket muttered before suddenly heading to the door. "Bye."

"Where are you going?" Mantis asked.

"I need to think and this happy family crap is startin' to make me sick." With that, Rocket left.

Peter told his grandpa, "He's not normally like that."

"Yes he is," Drax said.

" _Drax_."

"What?" Drax asked, innocently.

Peter shook his head and tried again. "No, I mean, it's worse today. We…we lost a friend today."

His grandfather nodded his head, sympathy in his eyes. "Close were you?"

Peter nodded as well. "He's an honorary Guardian."

"The one who took Mr. Stark's place?"

Wow, he put the pieces together fast, didn't he? "Yeah. Him." Peter didn't want to think about Loki's predicament if he was being honest with himself. I mean, sure, he wanted to go rescue the guy and he was just counting down the minutes before they could finally leave to save him. But…he still felt that the attack on St. Louis was his fault. He had forgotten about his own grandfather and because of that fact, St. Louis was ravaged, the fifteen were captured, and Loki got to play the part of the hero.

If he thought about it too hard he came to the horrible conclusion that this was all because of him. And call him selfish but he really did not want to feel this extreme, heavy guilt right now. He just wanted to make sure his grandpa was okay and happy and that the Guardians were their usually plucky selves, whatever plucky meant.

After no one said anything for a while, Gamora spoke up. "If you will excuse me, I really should be looking for my sister. She disappeared soon after we got here, so…"

"No need to look for your sister," a familiar voice said. Peter turned and saw Rhodey walk into the room, Nebula close to his side.

"Nebula," Gamora said walking over to her sister. "I'm glad you came back."

Nebula didn't look like she wanted to be here. "Yeah…Maybe we could talk. Somewhere else."

"Of course," Gamora said nodding. "Let's go."

The two sisters left together. Rhodey hesitated for a second before nodding to the Guardians and turning to leave as well. Peter shook his head. "Right. Cool. I guess…" What to do now? He rubbed the back of his neck and told his grandpa, "There's just so much to tell you."

The elderly man shrugged and happily said, "I'd love to hear it all." Peter smiled at this.

Then Drax suddenly said, "Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe."

His grandpa looked confused. "The what?"

Groot suddenly got all excited. "I am Groot!"

"Yes," Mantis agreed, "I love that story as well."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell it," Peter said shaking his hands. Drax, Mantis, and Groot all quickly sat back down, ready for story time. "But we gotta start from the beginning. So there was this shiny orb that was a total McGuffin straight outta the movies, right?"

…

Hope needed to clear her head. Actually what she needed was an aspirin and a stiff drink. Hell, she'd even settle for some coffee. Anything to make the pounding headache and the stress of the day go away. She told Luis that she was going for a walk. Luis nodded and off she was.

Scott had been dead tired, rightfully so, and after a brief reunion with Cassie, the man fell asleep in a cushy chair. She sat for a while after that and then she really just wanted to be alone for a second or two. Dealing with losses was nothing new to her. She lost her mother when she was only a kid, in many ways she had lost her dad for several years too. Now, both of her parents were trapped in the Soul World, freezing to death or burning in the sun or even running away from some more giant alien creatures.

The thought scared her but oddly enough it almost made her smile. A small, tired smile. Her parents in some pocket universe, out in the elements and seeing things from other worlds…being scientists they probably were making a lovely vacation out of it. A sort of survival second honeymoon. That thought put her at ease.

Sort of. She'd still worry about her parents, there was no avoiding it but maybe it would be a bit easier to think about it.

That wasn't the case with Loki.

There was no small, tired smile. There was just… _God_. It was just a big freaking mess wasn't it?

She rounded a corner and suddenly she stopped in her tracks. That dark haired Asgardian woman was sitting on the ground, her back to the wall, running a rock or something along the edge of her sword. Hope hadn't expected to see anyone alone, let alone this particular person. Valkyrie was her name. Not her actual name, Loki had called her something else, but it was the name she went by most of the time. "Hey," Hope greeted.

Valkyrie greeted her back. "Hey."

"I didn't expect to see anyone alone after today."

"What do you mean?" Valkyrie never even looked up from what she was doing.

"I just mean that after all the close-calls, everyone else is latching onto their friends and family like their lives depend on it."

"You're not "latching" onto Lang. You're here, talking to me."

There was a bit of a sarcastic undertone to her voice. It made Hope blink in surprise. "True. But we were for a while, but he had to worry about his daughter and Luis. And not surprisingly, he fell asleep so…here I am."

"Hmm."

Hope narrowed her eyes at the woman, trying to understand her seemingly emotionless state. "What about you? Not going to talk with Okoye or Thor?"

"Okoye has other things to worry about. We'll talk later."

"And Thor?"

Valkyrie paused and finally set her sword aside. She met Hope's eyes and crossed her arms in her defiant way. "What does it matter to you anyways?"

"It doesn't. I'm just curious as to how a person you care about, who has just lost someone precious to them, is sitting off dwelling on their own misery and here you are just sharpening your sword. Like it's no big deal and you don't care."

"Perceptive," Valkyrie chuckled. "No wonder Loki likes you." Her expression dropped at the mention of Loki's name. She blew a few loose strands of her hair from her face and tried to explain herself. "Look, I…I've spent so many years…I guess, I am just trying to, well, forget my hardships, my pain and I guess…I've become a bit detached. I'm…worried for Thor, of course, and I want to comfort him I just…I-I don't know how."

Hope sighed, understanding that feeling only too well. How long had she felt like she couldn't talk to her own dad about how she was feeling, let alone how he was feeling. Scott had helped her close that gap that opened between them. She would always be thankful to him for that. "Just be there for him. It doesn't matter in what capacity."

"She's right you know." The two women both turned to the sound of the new voice. It belonged to one Jane Foster. "Being there is better than not."

"Hey," Hope greeted.

"Hi." The female scientist stepped closer and fidgeted with her hands. "Sorry about eavesdropping. It's Hope and Valkyrie, right?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie said, eyeing Jane. "And you're Jane Foster. Thor's ex."

"And your Thor's new girlfriend?" Jane asked.

Valkyrie half laughed and half scoffed. "You know, we never really discussed what we are. So, no. Not yet. But we're friends to be sure."

Hope looked between the two woman and then the idea popped in her head in an instant. "Why don't you two both go to Thor?"

"Huh?" Valkyrie said, eyes slightly widened.

"Pardon?" Jane asked, looking similarly confused.

"Well, you both care for him." She looked directly at Jane, "You're kind," then she looked to Valkyrie, "you're realistic. You two should be able to balance each other out and comfort him."

Valkyrie shook her head impressed. "Seriously, perceptive… I'm fine with it."

Jane seemed a little caught off guard by Valkyrie wanting to do this but she quickly nodded in agreement. "Alright. I was wondering how he was doing anyways. Let's go."

"Yeah, let's." Valkyrie jumped up and grabbed her sword. She sheaved it and motioned for Jane to lead the way. Jane did and together they left. Hope let out a small sigh. Well, she hoped that she made the right call by having those two go together to comfort Thor.

…

So, Rocket left the too happy Quill, Grandpa Quill, and Guardians so he could vent out his frustration. And by "vent out his frustration" he meant, find an abandoned room and completely destroy it. It was certainly more effective than taking his anger out on grass like he had after he learned the Guardians were gone. He was actually kinda surprised how much damage he actually had inflicted upon the room. All the furniture was scattered on the ground, some of it broken, the shards all over the floor.

Still this was nothing compared to how Loki had destroyed that room. Rocket flinched at the thought. He sat down on the floor and dwelled on his strange mixture of feelings. Agh! _Feelings_. Stupid, complex crap that made life so unnecessarily difficult. "Um…" a shocked voice said, shaking Rocket out of his thoughts. He glanced up and saw that guy had walked in. That Wakanda guy who wore all the fur. M'Boo or M'Baku or something like that. The guy examined the state of the room in a silent shock for what felt like an eternity until he finally met Rocket's gaze and said, "Do you care to explain this?"

"Explain what?" Rocket grumbled. He wasn't trying to play stupid but he also wasn't in the mood to try and explain what was going through his head, which he would have to do if he explained why the room was totaled.

M'Baku's eyes widened and he motioned his hands to the entirety of the room. "What? _What?_ The state of this room. It's-it's-"

"It's completely destroyed?" Rocket offered.

"Yes. That."

"You know, you're not the ruler around here, so why do you care?"

M'Baku looked a cross between wanting to let out a laugh and shouting at him. Odd mixture of emotions if you asked him. M'Baku finally let out a deep sigh and sassily said, "My territory to rule over or not, I care when talking animals destroy priceless rooms."

" _Priceless?_ " From Rocket's understanding the Wakandan Princess was responsible for basically everything in Wakanda, so couldn't she just whip together a few more lousy metal chairs and lamps and call it a day?

M'Baku hid his face in his hands for a few seconds before trying again. "We are getting nowhere. Why did you destroy a room?"

"To deal with all of this damned drama," Rocket told him before he could stop himself. He internally cursed himself for telling the fur guy that. It wasn't any of his damn business how he was feeling or anything really. And he really did not want to talk about all of this damned "drama" that had been going around. So, in an attempt to change the subject he muttered, "Everyone's got a way to deal with things."

"And this is how you deal with stress and anger?"

"Not normally. I borrowed it from a friend." Rocket cursed himself again. He didn't want to talk about it and yet he brought up Loki in the conversation. He was such a dummy sometimes. Then again, M'Baku would have no way of knowing that Loki dealt with his losses from the snap by destroying that room.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you ever want to deal with stress and anger in a less destructive way, you can talk to me."

" _You?_ "

"Problem?" M'Baku said sounding offended by his attitude.

"No," Rocket said quickly. "I just…I don't want a new friend so quickly after havin' one been taken away."

"Then I leave you with your broken room…" M'Baku started to leave but quickly turned back around. "Oh, I should mention that T'Challa, although very wise and a stoic, gets upset when things, like rooms, are…disheveled. So, good luck with that." With a small smile and a nod he left for real.

Rocket quick glanced around the room, realizing that he might just have to pick all of this shit up. He let out an agitated huff and shouted, "Yo, fur guy! Get back in here!" M'Baku slowly came back into the room, that stupid smile still on his face. "Shut up and help me pick all this shit up."

Instead of helping, M'Baku crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "You destroyed the room, not me. Why should I help?"

Rocket growled at him. "Because I said so!"

"I may not be the ruler of Wakanda as a whole, but I am the ruler of my tribe and I do not need to do as others tell me to do."

"You are so freakin' confusing!" Rocket shouted. "First you're concerned about this stupid room, then you're concerned about me, which I do not need right now! Then you're gonna respect my wishes and leave but you did some reverse psychology crap on me so I call you back to help me with the stupid room. _And then_ you say you're not going to help me?! What the actual hell?!"

"Are you actually mad at me?" M'Baku suddenly said.

Boy, did Rocket feel his head want to explode after hearing a idiotic question like that. "Am I actually-you-what? _Of_ _course_ , I am mad at you-you big obnoxious fur ball! Why else would I be yelling?!"

"Because you are upset over Loki's situation."

Rocket was ready to argue anything M'Baku said. Ready to shout until he was out of breath. But he hadn't expected the guy to so calmly, so matter-of-factly state the real reason why he was so upset. Rocket opened his mouth to yell, realized what M'Baku had said, and stopped. He tried several times to say something snarky but eventually he gave up and muttered, "Yeah. Okay. You got me."

M'Baku came fully into the room, picked up a turned over chair, set it up right, and sat down in it. "It is not just that he was taken that has you so angry, is it?"

Rocket suddenly felt a very weird feeling of déjà vu. Loki had been the hot mess who had destroyed a room and Rocket had been the perceptive one who tried to be friendly and helpful. Now, somehow, he was the hot mess and some random guy in far too much fur was the perceptive one? He shook his head and he let himself say, "I'm angry that Loki decided to play the role of the hero but I'm not surprised. What really pisses me off is the fact that we are here wasting valuable time when we could be going after him. But no, I gotta endure everyone sittin' around lookin' sad and Quill havin' a joyful family reunion with his grandpa like it's no big deal that Loki is with the bastard who tortured him. No big deal at all!"

M'Baku let out a sigh after Rocket was done ranting. "I know the anxious feeling you get when you just want to act. However, action without thought behind it, without clear mindedness, will become destructive. I believe you and your friends need a few hours to regroup, clear your minds. Then, the course of action will come to you and you will be able to save your friend. As for Quill having a family reunion, as you previously stated, everyone deals with things differently."

Rocket had to nod his head in agreement with everything M'Baku so calmly and accurately said. He knew Quill was a puzzle to him sometimes when it came to coping with things and he knew that if they had gone straight after Loki, about half of the team would have collapsed. This was the smarter choice. But damn did it make him feel like the worst friend in history.

Eventually he glanced up at M'Baku and said, "You know, ruler or not, you got a way with words."

M'Baku smiled a bit and boasted, "Of course. It is one of my strong suits. That and my sense of fashion."

"Fur's not fashion."

"Matter of opinion."

Rocket half chuckled, "You're also an idiot. Care to help me pick up this freakin' room now?"

M'Baku exasperatedly said, "Oh, if I must." He stood up and got straight to work picking up the stupid room. Rocket got up and started to help too. He wasn't in a mood to make a new friend, especially so soon after Loki, but this M'Baku guy…he was okay.

…

Stephen closed his eyes in concentration.

He sat at a large table in one of the many sitting rooms filled with the uniquely Wakandan décor. On the table was a worn book with tearing yellow pages. It was open to the middle and an old spell was written across the pages that he couldn't read without the help of Google Translate.

Nothing happened for several seconds. He was beginning to wonder if he had done something wrong. Maybe he had said the spell incorrectly? Maybe this was a sign. A sign that he shouldn't be doing this.

But then…He could fell warmth around both of his wrists. His eyes popped open.

Black and purple magic was twisting around his wrists, entangling together. Stephen let out a shaky breath and muttered, "Okay." Slowly he lifted up his right hand to eye level. He wore his by now usual yellow gloves. They covered up the scars from his accident. Nothing could cover up the tremor that affected both his hands. He focused on the magic, hoping, _praying_ , that this would work. And then slowly, painfully so, the ring around his wrist began to branch out and tangle itself around his fingers and his palm.

And not just around his hand, but _inside_ his hand.

He could feel it, the glowing magic in his veins, his muscles, his bones. And then for a brief moment, his hand stopped trembling.

He had done it.

He had channeled cosmic energy directly into his hands.

"Strange." The semi-cold greeting surprised him enough to lose his concentration. The tremor came back. He shouldn't have been so startled, he knew Tony was going to come see him. He shook his hands and the rings disappeared. He shut the book and turned his chair towards the door. Tony stood in the doorway, arms crossed, harsh glare from earlier still in place. Strange felt a twist in his stomach. This was finally going to happen, wasn't it? "I just needed a break and I thought I would walk around…And how are you doing?" Tony asked, pretending to be nice.

"Honestly…terrible." Stephen sighed and rubbed his temples. "Everything will turn out fine in the end."

"You telling me or are you trying to convince yourself?"

Stephen met his gaze. "Tony, the last few days have been the most stressful in my life and the only thing that has given me any sort of consolation or hope has been my constant reassurance."

Tony glanced at the floor. "Yeah…Most stressful? Understatement." He slowly made his way into the room and walked around the table. "Fighting and losing to a giant purple monster isn't nearly as fun as it sounds… I'm not stupid you know."

It was happening.

Just like he saw it.

"I know."

Tony continued on. "I may act like I don't know what is happening sometimes but I-"

"No, Tony," Stephen interrupted. He slowly stood up, slightly fidgeting with his hands as he did so. The table was the only thing between them. "I mean _I know_. Ever since we got back you have been thinking about the beginning. How all of…this happened. And while you were reliving the disaster, you remembered what I said at the Arch. How I didn't come up with the idea for Loki to use the Reality Stone, I saw it. You remembered when we were on Titan and I looked forward into the future…and I told you that we only won one out of the millions of possible outcomes."

Stephen said it all slowly, carefully, though he would much rather just spit it all out. Tony's eyes widened in shock. And realization. Yes, he had thought all of this. Yes, he thought he knew what Stephen had been doing. But to hear it come directly from Stephen… "So, is this you confirming that you've been holding out on us?"

Stephen closed his eyes and when he opened them he avoided Tony's distrusting and disbelieving stare. "Look, amenity at this point is the only way this will work. They have to make their own decisions. I know what they will do and I help them if necessary but I cannot- _no_. No one can interfere with their choices."

Tony scoffed and rubbed his face with both his hands. Then he let out a tired little humorless chuckle. "You knew what was going to happen the whole time. The snap. Everything with the Soul World. St. Louis."

"You finding out."

"Guess it gave you time to rehearse how you would explain yourself, huh?" Funny enough, Stephen never once thought about how to "explain himself". He had been too concerned with trying to keep all the pieces from falling apart. Tony had grown quiet, had grown more serious than before. And in an eerie whisper he asked, "Did you know about Loki making the sacrifice play?"

Stephen let out a sigh and tried to find the best words. "I wished there had been another way to-"

"Don't bullshit me, Strange." Tony was mad. More than mad, he was furious. Rightfully so. "Come on. You had to know that question was coming."

Stephen met Tony's eyes again and nodded. "Yes. I knew." Tony let out a small gasp and took a few steps backwards like he had been struck. The guilt Stephen had been carrying for a while now, just seemed to amplify. He tried again. "And if there had been any other way for this to work, I assure you-"

"I _do not_ want your hollow assurance."

"Tony, it was the only way."

"Does he live?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Or what? The universe will implode?" Tony asked, borderline sarcastically.

Stephen tightened his resolve. "Or, what is supposed to happen, _will not happen_." He said those last three words with emphasis, knowing that Tony would understand, at least for now, that there was nothing he could tell him.

Tony just started mumbling to himself, his own guilt about Loki's situation coming through. "All the guy ever wanted was some acceptance…and the world beat him down every single time. He was labeled a monster, a murderer when the whole time he was being controlled. He does not deserve anymore pain."

Stephen slowly stepped around the table, getting slightly closer to the man. He wanted to put his hand on his shoulder and tell him everything. Tell him how the next few days were going to go. Tell him not to worry, tell him _to_ worry. Tell him exactly how they were to defeat Thanos. But he couldn't. All he could do was say, "I know…I'm sorry."

"No," Tony said, shaking his head rapidly. "No, you don't get to do that."

"Fair enough… I hope you do not think too poorly of me, Tony. I cannot think about just one person when billions of lives are on the line." That last part felt like a lie. Because he couldn't stop thinking about Loki.

"Yeah, well…" Tony trailed off, too upset to go on. He quickly found his words again. "I can't do that. _Just one person_ is all I ever think about. But if you can live with this then fine. Whatever. Who am I to judge?" Then he shoved past him, leaving in a huff.

Now all Stephen wanted to do was crumble to the ground with the stress of too much knowledge pushing down on him.

…

Bruce had just wanted to work. Work on reinstalling the Mind Stone into Vision's head. Talking would have been good to get everything that was cluttering his mind out into the open. But…he didn't have the…courage. Didn't have the courage to talk to Tony or Natasha and say, the fact that Hulk won't come out was really starting to piss him off and that he thought he knew why. Why wasn't the other guy wanting to come out and fight Thanos and his army? Simple, the "incredible" Hulk was scared of him. Hulk had no problem wanting to come out and put Clint back into his place, but Thanos? Hulk remained quiet. Maddeningly so.

So, he focused on the work, turning Natasha away when she came to check on him. He still had been working when Tony said he needed a break and left for a few minutes. When Tony came storming back in, it was clear he was pissed about something. But Bruce didn't ask. He had just enough energy to work on Vision, but asking Tony, Wanda, or Thor how they were doing with all of this… Yeah, no.

Vision's gray body was lying on the same metal table he had been earlier. Bruce and Tony both had a computer telling them how far they had come along. And they had come along way. The Mind Stone was securely placed back in the broken crater that was Vision's forehead. The systems were, of course, still working. They were just waiting for the stone and the systems to conjoin, then they would need Thor's lightning, and then-

"Hey." Bruce glanced up at the voice and saw that Valkyrie and Jane Foster had walked in together. It took him a second before he realized that Valkyrie had said 'hey' to him. He nodded to her and she nodded back. Then she focused all of her attention on Thor.

Jane was already doing just that, but she stopped for two seconds to ask, "Hi, you don't mind if we come in and talk with Thor do you?"

She didn't want to interrupt and when Tony did not say a word for several long seconds, Bruce quickly said, "No. That's fine. Yeah."

Valkyrie and Jane both tentatively sat next to the hurting thunder God. He glanced from side to side at the two women and muttered, "You two together? I don't know why, but I thought you'd hate each other."

"Well," Valkyrie crossed her arms and slouched down in her seat, "I might have been jealous of your oh-so-pretty ex for like five minutes but then I realized I was being stupid and we're not even dating officially so…so why get mad?"

"Besides," Jane said never taking her worried eyes away from Thor, "we both wanted to see how you were doing, so we figured we'd do it together."

Valkyrie shook her head. "Actually that lady, Hope, figured we should do it together. She's pretty smart."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, she is… How are you?" Thor did not answer her question and instead just continued to glare at the floor. "Do you need to talk or…?"

Thor rubbed his forehead and gruffly said, "Thank you for your concern, both of you. But I'm okay."

Bruce couldn't help himself from scoffing, "Yeah, alright."

Thor's sharp blue eyes turned to him. "What would you like me to say, Bruce? That I'm feeling miserable? That ever since I learned that my brother went with that mad man, I have felt nothing but guilt? That if I had just killed Thanos when I had the chance, then none of this would be happening right now? That it's my fault?" Thor had spat all of it out in a matter of seconds, his eyes filling with more and more tears as he went on.

Jane laid her hand on his wrist and wrapped her fingers around it. "What happened to Loki is not your fault."

"She's right, Thor," Valkyrie said, sounding softer than Bruce had ever heard her. "Blaming yourself is not going to help anyone."

Thor shook his head, looking like a sad puppy dog. "You weren't there. I had my axe in Thanos's chest and if I had just aimed for the head then-"

"Then what?" Tony asked almost challenging. The man had been quiet for so long that his sudden loud question almost started everyone in the room. "Then everything would be peachy-keen and we all live happily ever after? There is no use in going over the what-ifs in your head, because we cannot change what we have done. Maybe…" Tony trailed off, thinking something over. "Maybe some things just happen for a reason. And maybe…everything will turn out fine in the end."

"He's right," Valkyrie said, standing up, gaining Thor's attention. "Loki getting himself taken…sucks, alright? But if he saw you or anybody else moping around, he'd yell at you idiots. _"_ Stars above! I give you people five Infinity Stones to create your bloody human size Gauntlet and what do you do? You all sit around like a bunch of depressed jerks. I can handle myself, I am the God of Mischief after all. _"_ "

She did a pretty good Loki impression.

Jane half chuckled, "Yeah. He'd say something on those lines."

Thor wiped some of the tears away from his eyes. "I just…I want him to be okay."

"He will be." Bruce honestly didn't recognize his own voice. He sounded so tired, like a dead man walking.

Thor looked up and whispered, "And if Loki dies, it's my fault."

"And it's mine," Tony said, fully putting that responsibility onto his shoulders. "But if that does happen, it will also be Thanos's fault. Remember that… Whatever happens to Loki or to any of us, we have to live with ourselves. With the actions we make."

"And our failures?" Thor asked, still sounding miserable.

Tony nodded, looking sympathetic. "We definitely have to live with those too."

Living with failure was something Bruce had slowly learnt to deal with but the idea of Loki dying felt worse than failure. It felt like a defeat. But Thor seemed to finally agree that whatever happened, he would have to live with it and most importantly, Thanos was to blame for all of it. "When did you start acting like that Captain Rogers guy?" Valkyrie asked Tony after a while.

Tony shrugged and said, "Like four hours ago." Suddenly the computers started beeping that the systems and the stone were ready. "Bruce…"

"I see it," Bruce picked up his computer, "Thor, whenever you're ready."

Thor slowly stood up and walked over to Vision's lifeless body. Valkyrie took a step backwards and Jane stood up but made no move to get closer. Both women were intrigued by what was about to happen. Wanda, who had been mostly quiet this whole time, stood up as well. Bruce and Tony watched Thor place his hands on Vision. One hand was on his chest, the other hand was on his head. Thor inhaled and then his lightning sizzled and sparked around his hands, hitting Vision directly. It was almost too much to watch, the lightning striking Vision's body making it twitch and jump.

Three more seconds of Thor using his lightning later and it started to spark out too much. And before you knew it, the computers and lights in the room were completely shorted out. Thor quick pulled his hands away, his lightning diminishing as he did so.

Wanda ran to the table, her hands shaking as she reached out for her boyfriend. "Vision? Vision?"

She did not get a reply. Tony was already hurrying around the room trying to get the lights and the computers back on. "Hang on." When that didn't work, he finally pulled out his phone and ran a scan over Vision. It felt like the scan was taking forever and once it was finally finished, Tony didn't move. But his expression slowly morphed into a sort of grief.

It hadn't worked.

Bruce let out a sigh and covered his eyes with his hand, the stress and loss pushing down on him harder than before. After a while of silence, Wanda closed her teary eyes and turned away.

The Wakandan electrical mainframe was set up to automatically fix shortages after a certain amount of time, hence why the lights and computers suddenly came back on. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen that when Bruce's computer came on, it was telling them how close Vision was to being complete. The process was at 98 percent and climbing…

 _98%…99%…100%_

Vision's eyes popped open and he let out a gasp.

Everyone turned and stared at the android who was slowly regaining his red hue. Wanda's jaw dropped and she was quickly back at his side, exclaiming, "Oh, my God! Vis, you're alive! You're actually alive!"

Vision's eyes scanned his surrounding before settling in on Wanda. His eyes were no longer the gray lifeless orbs they had been before. They were back to having a spark of life. "Wanda?" Vision said, his voice was hoarse, but otherwise he sounded normal. "W-where are we? Are we…still in Wakanda?"

Wanda's head bobbed up and down, those tears in her eyes fell onto her cheeks. "Yes. Yes." Vision reached his hand up to her face and wiped the tears away. Wanda grabbed his hand, keeping it on her face.

Bruce managed to steal his eyes away from the happily reunited couple and glanced at Tony, who looked as speechless as he felt. "It worked," Bruce whispered.

Tony nodded his head, still shell shocked. "It actually worked." Maybe about two seconds passed before the utterly flabbergasted feeling faded away and was replaced with pure, giddy excitement. "It worked!" Tony shouted, practically jumping up and down.

Bruce nodded and clapped Tony on the back. "It did!" A weight had been lifted, some of the guilt had receded. They hadn't failed at this. Vision was alive. The joy was contagious as Thor chuckled at the two scientists' reactions and Valkyrie and Jane both smiled at the turn of events.

Vision turned his head to look at Tony and Bruce. "Mr. Stark…Dr. Banner…I could have sworn I died."

Tony nodded, "Technically speaking, you did. But we brought you back."

Vision's eyes shined with appreciation. "Thank you."

"Don't thank us," Bruce told him. "Thank Loki. He's the one who thought we could bring you back in the first place."

"I gotta tell everyone you're alive," Tony muttered to himself, still looking indescribably happy. "Some good news for a change." He ran off to the doors and was reaching for the door handle but at that moment the door swung open, and Tony almost crashed into the person on the other side of the door. And who was on the other side of the door? None other than Captain Carol Danvers.

Tony half jumped backwards at the woman's sudden appearance, but Danvers seemed un-phased. "I'm sorry to interrupt your happy moment," she said glancing to Vision and Wanda, "but I wanted to talk to you Avengers as soon as possible."

"Who's that?" Jane asked. Being that she hadn't been in the room when Danvers had messaged, it made sense that she would have no clue who Danvers was.

And Danvers promptly answered the question. "I'm Captain Carol Danvers…Captain Marvel."

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 _Author's Note Again: The plot thickens!_

 _Again!_

 _And, no Loki in this chapter! Sorry, but I needed this chapter with the others on their own. (There's nothing more fun than everyone being sad and depressed! Oh…wait…) Besides, it gave me a chance to explore other characters' P.O.V.s. And it is always fun to write the story from other people's points of view._

 _Scott just seemed to disappear. Hmm…any ideas? The little interactions were fun to write. Especially Quill with his grandfather and Rocket and M'Baku. And Tony knows about Strange knowing the outcome of things. Yikes! Am I scaring you all with Loki's fate? (I'm an evil kind of person, aren't I?) Vision's back and Captain Marvel is here! Oh, boy!_

 _Anyways, if anyone is interested in taking a look at my Stranger Things fan fiction (_ _ **"The Bonds that Connect Us"**_ _) I am always appreciatory of feedback. Hope this was worth the wait, sorry about the wait, and I look forward to hearing from you. Ta-ta!_


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